Melbourne, Jan 28 (UNI) Fourth seed Jannik Sinner of Italy captured his first Grand Slam title after storming back from two sets down to outlast gallant third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday.
The Italian wore down an exhausted Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 44 minutes.
Sinner lived up to the considerable hype in his Grand Slam coronation having also stunned No. 1 Novak Djokovic with a spectacular performance in the semifinals.
Three-time finalist Medvedev showed remarkable powers of endurance during a gruelling campaign in Melbourne, which included four five-set matches. But he ran out of gas to slump to his fourth defeat in a Grand Slam final.
Medvedev’s only Major triumph was at the US Open in 2021 when he beat Djokovic in straight sets.
Medvedev was rated the underdog despite his considerable edge in experience over 22-year-old Sinner, who was making his debut in a Grand Slam final.
But Medvedev stormed out of the blocks and was pinpoint accurate on return to rattle Sinner, whose serve had been almost faultless throughout the tournament. The Russian broke four times to gain a two sets advantage and he also hit the lines to run Sinner ragged.
Sinner dug deep in the third set and found rhythm on serve before breaking Medvedev in the 10th game to breathe life into the match.
Sinner again made his move by breaking in the 10th game to force a deciding set, as Medvedev’s hopes nosedived with his battered body laboring around the court.
Sinner grabbed the decisive break in the sixth game before he calmly served it out and slumped to the court in celebration after securing his maiden Grand Slam title.
