An eviction notice has been served.
“This is Novak’s living room. This is his home. I know from my experience that he wants to keep it as his home.”
That’s Radek Stepanek, the two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, talking to the media early in the tournament about the world number one and defending champion, and the young Italian Jannik Sinner who is trying to dethrone him. This is what he said when asked about the proposed matchup.
If you’ve watched Sinner’s previous matches at this Australian Open, you won’t be shocked to see his name in the final, even if it means defeating the defending champion. right.
This is not the first time Sinner has defeated Djokovic. The two have played against each other twice at the ATP Tour Finals and know each other well. They each won a match. Things went the way the Italians wanted in the group stage. In the final, Djokovic gave his best. However, the 22-year-old got his revenge a week later by defeating the Serbian in Davis Cup.
The rise of sinners is at hand, and he has been patient with it, he said. The Athletic Last year: “I’m the type of player who needs some time.”
Although he is not famous yet, his trajectory is heading in the right direction. Last year, he won his first Masters 1000 (below a Grand Slam level) title in Canada. He reached the semi-finals for the first time at Wimbledon. And now he’s reached his first Grand Slam final, defeating the all-time Grand Slam winner (Djokovic has won 24 times) for the first time in more than five sets. This made him the first Italian man or woman to reach the Australian Open singles final.
At this year’s British Open, he didn’t face a break point in a match, but dropped just one set against Djokovic in the entire tournament.
After predicting that 2024 would be the year Sinner would see the number 1 next to his name, two-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz quickly realized what he had said and decided next time. I corrected it as follows. ”
Perhaps he was right the first time. So who is he?
Last year, during a pre-tournament practice session at Melbourne Park, Sinner was mobbed by a group of young fans desperate for an autographed ball, a selfie or a moment with their new hero. But most of the audience just walked past him.
Now he’s headlining Rod Laver Arena, to the delight of crowds who brought tricolor flags, “Forza Jannik” cardboard signs, and, most strikingly, a carrot costume. . These are a nod to his strawberry blonde hair.
This Davis Cup win made more people do a double take when they saw him around town. “I definitely started getting more recognition,” Shinner recalls. And then after realizing how important Davis Cup is. ”
It’s quite far from Sexten, a small town in northern Italy. His parents, Hanspeter and Siglinde, worked at a ski lodge, where he first picked up a racket at the age of three. After defeating Djokovic, Sinner said his family had been staying at home during the tournament and planned to continue to do so.
Sinner’s super skill is his forehand. Matt Futterman wrote, “People have been commenting on the weight of his forehand since he was 19 years old.” (The weight measures the combination of spin and speed on the forehand side.) In the Melbourne sunshine, felt particles can be seen flying off the ball as Sinner punches out a forehand move.
If Djokovic owns Rod Laver Arena, Sinner has been renting out his backline for the past two weeks. His lanky 6ft 2in physique means he can cover it up with lunges. Although he can withstand long rallies, it is best to keep his points short and sharp.
He has spent time improving his serve. This is explained in more detail here. It may seem like a small accomplishment to us mere mortals, but it has helped him stay longer in recent tournaments, forcing his opponents to work harder and think faster.
Djokovic may have been part of the architect of Sinner’s game. On court, when asked by Jim Courier about their past encounters and whether the 10-time Australian Open champion had any advice for the younger Sinner, the new finalist told Rod Laver’s crowd: “This is what Djokovic said to me after the match,” he said in 2017. I want to try to move the ball a little more and be a little more unpredictable in the game. “My serve has improved a lot, but I feel like I can still improve,” he continued.
The way he talks about his coaching team, which includes Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, is as if he sees them as extensions of himself, each member contributing a different aspect to the makeup of a world-class professional tennis player. is. Cahill, who led the likes of Simona Halep to Grand Slam titles, said she pays attention to the “emotional part” and “talks in the right way before the match, giving confidence not only to me but also to the team.” Vagnozzi handles the more tactical/technical aspects. they work very well together. “If there’s a problem, we discuss it together and find a solution together. And to be honest, we’re all very relaxed.”
He knows to take things one step at a time. I enjoy every moment on and off the court. ”
Sinner has all the skills at his disposal to become the new landlord of these bright blue courts. That’s in stark contrast to his early days in Italy, where he was one of Italy’s top junior skiers.
But now tennis is putting him on an upward trajectory.
(Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images)