Jannik Sinner has broken new ground at the Australian Open after staging a mighty fight back to defeat Dannil Medvedev and win his first Grand Slam title.
To mark the occasion, here are five things to know about Sinner’s milestone victory.
1) Join a select list of Italian Grand Slam champions
Sinner is only the fifth Italian player, man or woman, to have won a Grand Slam title. Before his success in Melbourne, the last person to do so was Flavia Panetta at the 2015 US Open. However, he is the first to win the Australian Open and only the second male champion in the Open Era after Adriano Panatta (1976 French Open). The other Italian major winners are Francesca Schiavone and Nicola Pietrangeli.
2) Success at a young age
At the age of 22, Sinner is the youngest player to win the Australian Open since Novak Djokovic in 2008 who was 20 when he triumphed. There is a 14-year age gap between him and the Serbian who he beat in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Since 1988, Djokovic and Jim Courier are the only men to have won the Australian Open at a younger age.
3) Match a record set by Federer and Djokovic
According to stats platform OptaAce, Sinner is only the third player to beat a top-five player in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the same Grand Slam event since 1973. The others to do so are Djokovic (2012 Australian Open) and Roger Federer (2007 US Open).
4) Emulating Nadal
Sinner is only the second player in the Open Era to have won an Australian Open after losing the first two sets. The first player to do so was Rafael Nadal who also beat Medvedev. Unfortunately for Medvedev, he has become the first play to lose a major final after having a two-set lead on multiple occasions.
5) First new champion in a decade
Finally, Sinner is the first new men’s champion at the Australian Open since Stan Wawrinka won his maiden title in 2014. Overall, he is the 27th man in the Open Era to claim the title.
