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Jannik Sinner started in these minutes the Australian Open 2024 against Daniil Medvedev. The young Italian talent reached his first Major final in his career by beating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semifinal. A milestone that no one had ever achieved before: Nole was in fact unbeaten in the semifinals in Melbourne in his career.
For Sinner this is the third success in the last 4 matches with the ATP No.1, all within the last 3 months. Indisputable sign of the immense improvements implemented in the last period, thanks to the help of your team led by Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill.
The first, as we well remember, took place in November on the occasion of the ATP Finals. The Italian, in great form, obtained mathematical qualification for the next round by beating Nole, who still managed to advance to the semi-finals.
In the final the challenge arose again, but was dominated by Djokovic, who took home his seventh title. A few weeks later the two met again in a completely different but equally heartfelt setting, that of the Davis Cup. Sinner, in both singles and doubles, managed to get the better of Djokovic, earning himself the final, which he then won against Australia.
With the victory in the semi-final in Melbourne, Jannik entered a very small club, which only sees the presence of two absolute legends, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. In fact, the three were the only ones to beat the Serbian in three competitions: in a Slam, in the Finals, and in the Davis Cup.
There is one fact that further validates Jannik's feat. The ATP No.1, defending Happy Slam champion, was coming off 33 consecutive victories. His last defeat in the first Major of the year dates back to 2018. The Korean Hyeon Chung defeated him with a score of 7-5 7-6 7.5.
2195 days later, Jannik Sinner dispelled a taboo that seemed like it could last much longer.
The amazing data got by Sinner
These numbers are even more impressive if we consider that Sinner did not grant any break points to the Serbian champion, also denoting the extraordinary improvements to his serve, which in the past have often penalized him on these courts.
So, after 6 very long years, Djokovic had to give up and leave the scene at the Australian Open. A new sensation never experienced by the Serbian champion, who had in fact never abandoned the Melbourne competition in the semi-final.
Sinner managed to win a challenge he dominated for very long stretches, in which Nole did not find his tennis to counter the aggressiveness of the Italian's game, which put him in serious difficulty. The many unforced errors from the 36-year-old from Belgrade and a service that gave guarantees from the Italian made the difference in the long run.
However, there is another fact, above all, which certifies how the Italian talent has put his opponent with his back against the wall. For the first time in a Grand Slam match Nole never had break points.
In all the tours of service, Sinner risked very little and always kept his distance from a possible reaction from the number one. Twice to the advantage, then a maximum of 2 points conceded in each game: Sinner was a guarantee at bat, even in the most crucial moments in which he was able to withstand the pressure and not make too many gratuitous errors.
This aspect was naturally decisive in maintaining the advantage built and giving himself the first Slam final of his career in Melbourne.
Simone Vagnozzi, in an exclusive interview given to SuperTennis, spoke on the eve of the match being played between the Sinner and Medvedev.0 - This was this first completed match at a Grand Slam in Novak Djokovic's career where he did not forge a single break point chance (0 in 19 receiving games).
Attacked.#AusOpen | @AustralianOpen @atptour — OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 26, 2024
"You always expect from Djokovic that he can shift into another gear, so after the first two sets I had no illusions that it was over. Jannik was good at being prepared when Nole entered the match and then he was very good at not being defeated when he didn't convert the match point and the match extended to the fourth set.
We know what a champion Medvedev is. Here he seemed to die many times, but in the end he always made it, pulling himself out of extremely difficult situations. It will be a very complicated match, in which the fact that Jannik stayed on the pitch less than him is a small advantage.
Conversely, the fact that Sinner has won the last 3 times is not fundamental, but it can give him the push to take to the court with the same confidence with which he faced Djokovic. The final of any tournament is different from other matches and tomorrow in particular there will be many emotions.
Let's see who can handle them better."