Australian Open: Sinner rallies by Medvedev for first Grand Slam win

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Jannik Sinner crushed a forehand inside the sideline and just out of reach of an exhausted Daniil Medvedev to claim championship point, edging the Russian for his first Grand Slam title Sunday at the 2024 Australian Open.

Sinner, the first Italian to win an Australian Open singles title, rallied from an 0-2 set deficit for the 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 triumph in Melbourne. The No. 4 seed logged 14 aces and 50 winners and converted 4 of 9 break point opportunities in the 3-hour, 44-minute match.

"It's obviously a huge tournament for me," Sinner said on the ESPN broadcast. "I want to thank everyone for making it so special."

Medvedev started strong, but showed obvious signs of fatigue as the match aged. The three-time Australian Open finalist played 31 sets at the tournament, compared to 25 for his foe, a first-time Grand Slam finalist. He also played 306 games total, the second-most in the history of the tournament.

"Today he showed why he deservers it," Medvedev said. "He fought to the end. He managed to raise his level. ... He's winning a lot of matches and that's probably not his last Grand Slam."

Sinner, 22, traded drop shots and slices with Medvedev early on, but could not find an edge. Medvedev, 27, broke his second serve of the match and held in the fourth game to earn a 3-1 lead. He broke Sinner again to claim the final game of the first set.

Medvedev broke Sinner twice more in the second set, cruising to a 5-1 lead. Sinner broke the Russian in the seventh game of that set, but Medvedev held his last serve to win and move within a one-set victory for the title.

Medvedev and Sinner held all of their serves through the first nine games of the third set. Sinner then broke Medvedev in the 10th to win the set and cut the No. 3 seed's match lead in half.

Sinner and Medvedev each held serve again through the first nine games of the fourth set. Just like the third set, Sinner broke Medvedev's serve in the 10th game to make the score 2-2.

He broke Medvedev again in the sixth game of the fourth set to take a 4-2 lead. Sinner held in the seventh game. Medvedev held in the eighth.

Sinner then scored championship point with his sizzling return down the right sideline.

The Italian cashed in for $2.1 million with the victory, the same prize given to women's singles champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

The 2024 French Open is the next Grand Slam on the tennis schedule. The clay-court tournament will be held May 26 to June 9 in Paris. Wimbledon will be held in July, while the U.S. Open will be in August.