People always say that the tennis world has been dominated by the Big Three for too long, and their dazzling light has obscured the excellence of other players. But the four seasons reincarnate, the sun and the moon change, and time breeds batches of young forces to join the competition in the tennis world.
These young forces continue to emerge on the court, and the men's singles final of the 2024 Australian Open will not feature the Big Three for the first time since 2005, and there must be a place for Sinner among them.
On January 28, Beijing time, in the competition for the 2024 Australian Open men's singles final, Italian player Sinner fought in five sets and reversed 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Defeating Russian player Medvedev, he won the Australian Open men's singles championship for the first time. This was also Sinner's first Grand Slam men's singles championship, and also made him the first Italian player to win the Australian Open singles championship.
Medvedev: Only one win in six Grand Slam finals
Every Grand Slam championship is hard-won. There are 128 Grand Slam singles draws, and 127 people left with failure. Today, Medvedev Dvedev is one of these 127 people.
Since 2017, Medvedev has come to Melbourne a total of 8 times, reaching the finals 3 times in 2021, 2022 and 2024. In 2021, he lost to Djokovic with a big score of 0-3. In 2022, he won the first two sets and got three break points in a row at 40-0 in the sixth game of the third set, but was narrowly escaped by Nadal. After a hard battle of 5 hours and 24 minutes, he missed the championship.
Medvedev has reached the Grand Slam men's singles finals six times and has only won one so far. That was the 2021 US Open, when he swept Djokovic in three sets.
In the semifinals of this Australian Open, Medvedev overcame Zverev in three consecutive sets after falling behind 0-2, but today he experienced the pain of his defeat from beginning to end.
This game is undoubtedly heartbreaking for Medvedev.
Medvedev was in good form in the first set, fast, accurate and ruthless, leading all the way and winning 6-3.
In the second set, Medvedev continued to maintain offensive pressure, showed more aggressiveness in the baseline battle, and won the set with a score of 6-3.
Coming to the crucial third set, Sinner began to gradually calm down, improving the stability of his serving and hitting. While stabilizing the situation, he actively looked for opportunities. In this way, the Italian, who did not give up easily, won the crucial game in the 10th game. Break of serve and regained the set at 6-4.
In the fourth set, Sinner kept up his efforts and once again tied the score 6-4, dragging the game into the deciding set.
In the fifth set, Medvedev's adjustments at his feet were not so neat, and his physical fitness began to decline rapidly. However, Sinner on the other side of the net became more and more courageous, and finally won the deciding set 6-3, and also won his personal first. A Grand Slam men's singles championship was collected.
Human beings' joys and sorrows are not the same. This also applies to the Grand Slam finals. The competition for championships has always been cruel. The glory tonight is destined to belong to only one person.
Sinner: Entering the Grand Slam final for the first time and winning the title
In 2001, Sinner was born in San Candido, South Tyrol, Italy, which is a ski resort in Europe and even the world and is suitable for snow sports almost all year round.
Initially, Sinner wanted to be a skier. Before the age of 13, Sinner focused on skiing and won many championships.
Because his father loved tennis, Sinner got his first tennis racket from his father when he was 2 and a half years old. Sinner began playing tennis regularly at the local tennis club in South Tyrol when he was 7 years old. So at the age of 13, Sinner decided to give up skiing and pursue tennis as a career. As for why he chose tennis, Sinner said this: "I always like to make decisions, but it doesn't work in a team event like football. As for skiing, you have to go down the mountain as fast as possible in a minute and a half. If Make even one mistake and you're out. But tennis is different. Even if you make a mistake, you can continue playing for two and a half hours. That's why I chose tennis."
So in 2018, in the future The 18-year-old Italian boy embarked on the professional tennis track.Later, as everyone saw, he came to the 2024 Australian Open men's singles final and successfully won the championship. What is even more worth mentioning is that in the last round of semi-finals, he actually defeated Djokovic, one of the Big Three. What is even more interesting is that Djokovic did not get a break point on Sinner's serve throughout the match.
challenged Djokovic, one of the Big Three, and Sinner did not fall behind, bringing an end to Djokovic's 33-game winning streak at Melbourne Park. "The winning streak will end one day. Although I didn't play well, I tried my best and lost to a player who was very likely to win his first Grand Slam." Djokovic said after the game explain.
With his amazing performance in the 2023 season, Sinner is regarded as the favorite to win this year. In the end, he staged a thrilling drama of two chasing three, which also allowed everyone to see that this young Italian boy not only has luck, but also has absolute strength.
There is no doubt that Sinner and fellow "post-00s" two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, a Spanish teenager, are regarded as leaders who can end the dominance of the "Big Three" and usher in a new era of tennis.
still has a long way to go in the future, and future opponents will still be difficult to deal with. But at the moment, the young Italian only needs to remember the night of his first Grand Slam championship and the invincible version of himself tonight at Rod Laver Arena.
Text | Reporter Long Xi
Picture | Visual China
