Italian Sinner overthrows Russian Medvedev in five sets and wins his first Grand Slam title – Libération

The first Italian player to win a Grand Slam title in almost half a century, the world number 4 overthrew Daniil Medvedev this Sunday January 28 in Melbourne.

He is the third Italian player in history to win a Grand Slam, the first in almost half a century. Jannik Sinner, who debunked world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, won the Australian Open final at the age of 22. The world number 4, trailing two sets to zero, overthrew Daniil Medvedev, current number 3, this Sunday January 28 in Melbourne, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. The Russian player is reliving his nightmare of 2022, when he had already been beaten in the final in Melbourne after leading two sets to zero, then against Rafael Nadal.

The 27-year-old Russian undoubtedly ended up paying for his crazy Australian fortnight, during which he had already won three matches in five sets, including two after being down two sets to zero (in the semi-final and the second round). . He, who was playing his sixth major final, remains for the moment with a Grand Slam title, won at the US Open in 2021 (against Djokovic).

Sinner completes his prowess with this victory, having stopped the formidable Novak Djokovic on his favorite court on Friday. The world No. 1 had not lost a match there since 2018. Djokovic, beaten 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in just under three and a half hours, including was seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title, at the age of 36. “It’s one of the worst matches I’ve played in a Grand Slam. I was shocked by my level, in a bad way,” said the Serb at the end of the match. The Italian is the first to beat Djokovic even though he reached the last four of the Australian Open, his preserve. The sign of an end of reign? “That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the beginning of the end,” he noted on Friday. I always have high ambitions for the other Grand Slams, for the Olympics, and the other tournaments that I will play. It’s only the beginning of the season.”

Medvedev out of breath

However, on the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday evening, for almost two sets, until 5-1 in the second set, the match was one-sided, in favor of Medvedev. Sinner, perhaps because it was his first major final, was then only a shadow of the hard-hitting player who had defeated Djokovic on his favorite court two days earlier.

Medvedev, on the other hand, executed his plan to perfection: taking the young Italian by the throat, forcing his nature and even going to the net, all while relying on a super efficient serve. On the Sinner side, the spark finally lit at the end of the second round, when he reduced the gap from 5-1 to 5-3.

The Tyrolean with the red hair gradually freed himself, and with him his heavy strike, both forehand and backhand, to gain the physical upper hand over Medvedev, out of breath. The Russian player had played almost six hours more than his young opponent before the final.

By winning, Sinner became the fifth Italian, women and men alike, to register his name on the list of winners of a Grand Slam tournament, after Nicola Pietrangeli (Roland-Garros 1959 and 1960), Adriano Panatta (Roland-Garros 1976 ), Francesca Schiavone (Roland-Garros 2010) and Flavia Pennetta (US Open 2015).