Australian Open men's final 2024: Jannik Sinner beats Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne final

Jannik Sinner finally fulfilled his long-awaited promise to win the Grand Slam title after a remarkable comeback in the Australian Open final against Daniil Medvedev.

In his initial significant final, Italy's Sinner, who is only 22 years old, was losing by two sets. However, he made a comeback and managed to win the game with a score of 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.

At the beginning of the game, Sinner, who was the fourth seed, struggled to keep up with the speed of the Russian player. However, as the match progressed, Sinner managed to assert himself and become dominant.

Medvedev encountered another frustrating setback when he failed to maintain his position after winning two sets against Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final.

In Melbourne, a newbie champion was certain after Sinner defeated the ten-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Sinner made sure that his name was written on the trophy, proving the talent that many knew would eventually result in winning a Grand Slam. This was after a long and intense four-hour long match.

"It's an amazing feeling. I need some time to fully comprehend and understand what this feels like, particularly since it's my first time," remarked Sinner in an interview with Channel Nine from Australia.

"My journey has been challenging, despite my young age of 22 years."

The player ranked third, Medvedev, who is 27 years old, has not been successful in five out of his six major final matches. He has had disappointing outcomes in his matches against Djokovic in 2021 and Nadal in 2022 at Melbourne Park.

Sinner secured his win by hitting a forehand shot that landed on the line, and he fell on his back in joy at the baseline.

Medvedev walked slowly around the tennis net to give his compliments to Sinner. After that, Sinner hit his chest hard in excitement and joined his team to celebrate.

Medvedev appeared upset as he attempted to come to terms with the defeat, sitting in his seat. However, he still managed to acknowledge the crowd's applause by giving them a thumbs-up.

Medvedev expressed that losing in the final is painful, but it's most likely preferable to losing earlier in the tournament. He also achieved a new record at a Grand Slam event by accumulating 24 hours and 17 minutes of play time.

I am constantly driven to come out on top and it seems that I will need to put forth more effort in the future to achieve victory.

In 2024, there was a lot of discussion about Sinner as a Grand Slam champion after an amazing finish to the previous season.

By winning the ATP 1000 title in Toronto and beating top players, the athlete believed that he could achieve more success this season. Additionally, he also helped Italy win the Davis Cup, which further boosted his confidence. It seems like he is destined for more great achievements in the future.

Sinner pulled off that feat in the opening big competition of the year.

During the past two weeks, Sinner has displayed a newfound determination that this might be his chance to shine, and remained undefeated until he competed against Djokovic without losing a single set.

The Italian has finally solved the mystery of why the younger players were unable to beat Djokovic in Melbourne by defeating him.

After achieving that, Sinner's following task was to replicate his remarkable triumph by defeating Medvedev once again.

Sinner firmly believed that his job was not completed by just defeating Djokovic.

He showed his strong willpower by never admitting defeat, even in a dangerous situation, and maintained faith in his strong groundstrokes.

As Medvedev's energy declined, Sinner increased the tempo and precision of his shots, slamming 28 successful hits in the last two sets.

Sinner commented that the match was moving rapidly in the first two sets. He was supported by a significant Italian group at Rod Laver Arena.

I had no opportunity to compete at this level; however, I sought out any possible chances. I succeeded in disrupting my opponent and triumphed by securing one set and one game at a time.

Numerous athletes who have been in a Grand Slam final before have shared their experience regarding how unique the event can feel, especially for someone competing in it for the first time, and how it can be quite overpowering.

Medvedev, who only had one significant victory at the 2021 US Open, expected that his previous encounters would give him an advantage over Sinner.

Despite Sinner showing no signs of being nervous, Medvedev utilized an aggressive playing style that proved effective in the first two sets. This tactic appeared to suffocate Sinner and ultimately proved to be a wise choice.

In the end, his improved luck was mainly due to his ability to persist and maybe some psychological wounds from his loss to Nadal in the past.

During the two-week tournament in Melbourne, Medvedev had played for almost six hours longer than his adversary who was younger than him.

He had to endure five-set matches three times and came back from being two sets down twice. One of these incredible comebacks was in the semi-final against the sixth-seeded German player, Alexander Zverev.

Prior to the ultimate match, Medvedev discussed Sinner's physical prowess and acknowledged that he needed to begin the game quickly to improve his likelihood of winning.

Despite his initial strength and powerful groundstrokes, he struggled to sustain his performance and eventually appeared fatigued as Sinner made a comeback.

Medvedev expressed feeling slightly fatigued in his body. Nevertheless, he made an effort to feel content with himself and succeeded in doing so.

I battled, I sprinted. I had the mindset of pushing myself to the limit, not caring if I couldn't walk the next day. I refused to give up until the very end, and I succeeded.

Medvedev played another grueling five-set match on Sunday, breaking the previous record for the longest time spent on court at a single Grand Slam tournament. Carlos Alcaraz from Spain held the previous record with 23 hours and 39 minutes of playing time during his victorious 2022 US Open campaign.

Following his defeat to Nadal, Medvedev opened up his press conference with a solemn speech in which he shared that he had ceased to have aspirations.

On this occasion, he adopted a more positive attitude and even made some humorous remarks about his experience on the court.

"I may not be a champion at everything, but I'm proud to have made a mark in this field. My name will go down in history books," he exclaimed.