Jannik Sinner stormed back from two sets down on Sunday to beat Daniil Medvedev in a gruelling five-set Australian Open final and win his first Grand Slam title.
The Italian fourth seed had no answer to the Russian’s aggression in the first two sets but dug deep to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 44 minutes.
He collapsed to the floor following match point before returning to his feet to savour his moment of victory on Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner thundered 14 aces, hit 50 winners and broke Medvedev’s serve four times to become the first Italian champion in tournament history.
The 22-year-old is the first Italian man to win a Slam since Adriano Panatta in 1976 and the youngest man to win the Australian Open since Novak Djokovic in 2008.
But the result was a bitter blow for the third-ranked Russian, who has now lost a second Australian Open final after being two sets up, following his bitter defeat by Rafael Nadal in 2022.
Sinner praised Medvedev for his remarkable stamina throughout the tournament — the final was his fourth five-setter this year in Melbourne.
“Your effort has been awesome throughout the tournament, the hours on court and today’s effort running for every ball,” he said.
“It is remarkable to see. I hope you can also lift this trophy here and I’m sure that you can. “It’s obviously a huge tournament for me and I want to thank everyone for making this Slam so special.—APP
