Jannik Sinner’s superbly steady rise to Grand Slam glory
The 22-year-old Italian won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open under the guidance of coach Darren Cahill, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final from two sets down
Jannik Sinner wins the 2024 Australian Open Action Plus / Panoramic
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Jannik Sinner‘s rise to the upper echelons of tennis over the past 18 months has been how linear his progress has been.
Free from any major setbacks or clear periods of regression, the grounded young Italian’s career thus far has followed a serene, steady path that has consistently wound its way upwards.
Sinner has methodically reached and surpassed all new milestones in the correct order, ticking off each target before calmly moving onto the next.
At 17 years of age, he won his first Challenger title, before capturing the attention of much of the tennis world by winning the Next Gen Finals just nine months later. Sinner followed this with his first ATP 250 title in Sofia, then a 500-level victory in Washington, before eventually winning his maiden 1000-level tournament in Toronto last August.
A month prior to that Canadian triumph, he had reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon – having reached all four major quarter-finals as a precursive step – before a stunning end to the season saw him notch notable scalps against every top player en route to a first ATP Finals final and a much-coveted Davis Cup title for his country.
sinner officially joins alcaraz as fellow young great
It should be of little surprise, then, that this remarkable young man has followed that with a maiden Grand Slam title, given that was the next milestone on Sinner’s list to be ticked off.
“He’ll never settle. He wants to get better,” was how Sinner’s head coach Darren Cahill put it, following the world No 4’s victory over Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final.
Even so, the manner in which Sinner has so perfectly constructed his career right up until the point of Grand Slam greatness is one of the most satisfyingly impressive displays of incremental improvement that this sport has seen.
“I do,” was Cahill’s response when asked whether he believed Sinner could be the sport’s next superstar.
“I think this sport at the moment has a few superstars. I think Carlos is very similar to Jannik in both the way they play with the excitement level they bring to the game, and their personalities and their likability. Both guys are incredibly alike off the court.
“They both like each other. They both have a friendly rivalry. They both light it up when they play each other. I don’t think any of their matches have ever been boring.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner’s respective progressions have felt remarkably aligned, and it is of immeasurable value to tennis that these two players will most likely spend their careers battling for supremacy at the summit of the sport.
Yet, their careers have in actual fact taken starkly differing routes to greatness. While Alcaraz burst onto the scene in a blaze of breathtaking glory, beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic back-to-back in Madrid before seizing the world No 1 spot and a maiden major title at the age of 19, Sinner meanwhile has been steadily traversing his longer, but equally impressive, path towards Grand Slam glory.
The pair will continue to motivate and inspire each other to continually improve, just as each of the Big Three did throughout their illustrious careers.
“There’s no question seeing the young players come through and having success drives each and every one of them,” Cahill explained.
“Not just Jannik. They all desire it. They all want it. If they see one of their compatriots or someone of their generation having success, absolutely.
“Then you look into what they’re doing, why they’re having success, and how are we going to replicate it for us.
“Carlos has trail blazed for a lot of young players. We’re thankful for that. He’s a delight to watch play, and a delight to watch him on court. We aspire to be as good as him and hopefully one day be better than him, but at the moment we’re chasing Carlos, and we’ll continue to do that.”
grounded, likeable sinner wins hearts on and off court
It is evident from the way both Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi speak about their young charge that they have great admiration, even affection, for Sinner.
For a player so young who carries the mantle of taking over from the unprecedented era of the ‘Big Three’, it is of significance that Sinner not only carries himself so well on court, but that he is also seemingly universally liked off it.
“We believe in Jannik, we always have,” Cahill continued.
“What you see of Jannik on the court is [that he is] incredibly respectful on the court, whether it be to the umpires or ball-kids or lines-people, anybody around, the transport drivers, people at the restaurant.
“He’s been brought up really well. He’s got his feet on the ground. His parents are exactly the same as him.
“He’s a special young kid. Even the way he hits the ball, it just sounds special. When you hit the ball the way he does, when you want to improve the way he does, when you move the way he does, he’s going to have success at some point.”
with grand slam title ticked off, the sky’s the limit for sinner
With each new tournament milestone now reached, Sinner’s attention will turn to replicating the biggest success he’s yet had, both in Melbourne and across the other three Grand Slams.
There are many notable accomplishments that remain for Jannik to tick off on his ever-growing list.
With his Australian Open triumph unmistakably feeling like the first of many, and the manner in which the Italian has risen to every challenge in his young career thus far, there are simply no limits to what Sinner can now achieve.
A new great has arrived at the top of sport. Typically, right on time.
The rest of his career will be an absolute joy to witness.
