MELBOURNE – Jannik Sinner has sprinted past opponents at the Australian Open in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam, but could end up running a marathon in the final against Daniil Medvedev on Jan 28.
Melbourne Park is set to crown a new king as the winner at Rod Laver Arena will become the first new men’s champion at the Australian Open since Stan Wawrinka in 2014.
It will also be the first final since 2005 not to feature at least one of the “Big Three” – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
Sinner made sure of that by dismantling reigning champion Djokovic in the semi-finals to end the world No. 1’s bid for a record 25th Slam.
It was the Italian’s third victory in four matches against Djokovic since November, confirming a red-hot run of form that, Sinner says, has primed him for his first run to the business end of a Major.
“After last year, especially the end of the year, it gave me confidence that I could potentially do some good results in the Grand Slams,” said the 22-year-old, who has dropped only one set on his way to the final.
“But you still have to show it, no? There are people who talk a lot, but you have to show it.”
Sinner’s game has moved to another level since he began working with Darren Cahill, who believes the fourth seed – broken just twice in 88 service games in Melbourne – has all the weapons to land one of the game’s four big prizes.
“He’s got the qualities I believe that a lot of the great champions in the game have, but you’ve got to start winning to let that come to fruition,” the Australian said.
“He’s making little steps. He had a good finish to last year. He gained a lot of belief from what he was able to do.”
Belief and a rich vein of form might, however, count for nothing against the incredible willpower of Russian Medvedev, who has twice battled back from the brink of defeat to make his third Australian Open final.
While Sinner has spent a little more than 14 hours on court, his third-seeded opponent has battled for more than 20 – thanks largely to his five-set wins over Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round and Alexander Zverev in the semis.
On both occasions he rallied from two sets down and, although he said he may feel “destroyed” physically, Medvedev will be determined to finally raise the trophy after losing to Djokovic in 2021 and to Nadal in 2022.
“I’m stronger than I was before this tournament because now I know that I’m capable of some things... Because before I didn’t do anything like this to get to the final,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m proud and looking forward to the final to give 100 per cent again.”
The former US Open champion, who has now reached six Slam finals, has defeated Sinner six times in nine meetings but, perhaps crucially, lost their last three clashes on hard courts in 2023, including at the ATP Finals in November.
Medvedev’s coach Gilles Cervara is convinced, however, the experience that the Russian has could be decisive. “I would like (to think) that it makes a big difference,” he said. REUTERS
