Jannik Sinner, from the Italian Alps to the top of tennis at the Australian Open: the decision “out of danger” that changed his life

Jannik Sinner made history at Melbourne Park. He won the title Australian Open with a spectacular comeback in the final against Daniel Medvedev, he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy and became the first Italian player to shout champion of a “great” outside Roland Garros. His consecration may have been surprising due to his form: that 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-3 against the Russian, third in the rankings, made him only the eighth tennis player to overcome a 0 -2 deficit in sets in the final of a Greater In the It was open; but not for the final result. The world number four, 22 years old, is one of those talents destined to achieve great goals. Although until not long ago it seemed that I would be doing it on a snowy slope, not with snowshoe in hand.

Sinner was born in San Candido, a town in the middle of the Italian Alps, on the border with Austria, home to one of Italy’s most famous ski resorts. Little Jannik learned from an early age to slide on skis along the slopes of frozen mountains. He even became national slalom champion in 2008 and second in 2012 and one of his country’s great promises in that winter sport, which was his great passion, before football.

He discovered tennis when he was three years old, but that discipline was far from being a priority. He played it only as a hobby and at the age of seven he went twelve months without touching a racket. But at 14 he decides to change course, leave his hometown and settle in the academy of Riccardo Piatti in Bordighera.

“Skiing was dangerous. One bad fall can jeopardize an entire season. Tennis can be played all year round. But the most important thing is that in tennis you see your opponent. You know if you are ahead in the rankings or behind , whether” You have to change something or not. In skiing you go down alone and you don’t know if you are the fastest or the slowest, you only see red and blue doors, “she explained once.

This Sunday, standing on the concrete of Rod Laver Arenaembracing the trophy of the “great” oceanic, he assured that he owed this enormous goal just achieved above all to his parents, both closely linked to skiing (but also passionate about tennis), who gave him the freedom to follow his path.

“I have perfect parents, they are incredible. I wish everyone had parents like mine. They always supported me and never pressured me. That’s maybe the key to why I’m here,” she said.

He added: “I left home when I was 14, so I had to grow up quite quickly, but that was perhaps the fastest way to mature and improve. It was hard for me, but it’s not easy for parents to leave their fourteen-year-old son either.”

The late start to competitive tennis was not a problem for Jannik. Owner of a natural talent, under the tutelage of Piatti – who was able to collaborate with big stars, including Novak Djokovic– began to evolve rapidly.

With almost no participation on the junior circuit, he started playing Futures -today ITF World Tour, the first step of professional tennis- at just 15 years old. In February 2019 he won his first Challenger and in August of the same year, just turned 18, he made his debut in the main draw of a Slam, in New York. On Sunday, in his 17th main draw in that category, he won his first title. Another guy who won his first Major after 16 failed attempts? A Roger Federer.

That 2019 marked a turning point in Sinner’s career and life. The Italian closed that season with the consecration in the Next Generation Finals of Milan, where he arrived as a guest and was defeated in the final Alex De Minaur. It was recognized by ATP as the Revelation of the Year. And he wore his “future Grand Slam champion and potential number one” backpack.

“My journey was very fast. You’re experiencing it all and trying to get better. You don’t even realize how fast things are going. Today I have to realize what I have done, this is one of the most important titles in our sport. But on the other hand I also know that I have to continue working for other occasions,” she reflected after her consecration in Melbourne.

Right-handed and two-handed backhand with lots of top spin, aggressive on the court and very agile and quick in his movements despite his 1.88 meters height, for several seasons he has played tennis comparable to that of the best, but the great results are not arrived. Therefore, in mid-2022, he made a big bet. He feels he needs a change, so he ends his sporting relationship with Piatti and teams up with his compatriot Simone Vagnozzi and the Australian Darren Cahill. And she made another big leap.

Last year he won his first 1000 Masters, in Toronto, and reached the fourth step of the ranking, his best position. And she reached the final of ATP Finals of Turin, an occasion in which he lost against Djokovic, whom he had beaten in the round-robin and whom he defeated again a week later, on the way to winning the Davis Cup.

And at the beginning of 2024 he realized his dream of lifting a Grand Slam trophy, in an Australian Open in which he played at superlative levels and fell to three consecutive top 5s: in the quarterfinals he beat Andrei Rublev (5th), in the semi-final he destroyed Djokovic (1st) and in the decisive duel Medvedev (3rd), against whom he revived a match that the Russian had in his pocket.

Since 1973, when he began compiling the ATP rankings, only two other players have managed to beat three rivals ranked in the top five in the last three rounds of a “major” hard court tournament: Federer at the US Open and himself. Nole in Melbourne, both in 2012. And only once in the Open era has a player overturned a 0-2 deficit in sets in the final of this tournament: Rafael Nadaltwo years ago, when he lifted the trophy after winning 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5 against… Medvedev.

During the two weeks of competition, the Italian also demonstrated enormous mental strength and did not let himself be overwhelmed by the expectations generated by his great present.

“Getting to know my body and my team better was a very important step for me. Last year I achieved very good results. This made me believe that I can compete against the best players in the world. Now I have to process what I have done , it’s a great moment for me and for my team. The process and hard work sometimes pay off”, commented the player who became the third player from his country to win a Slam (the second in the era Open), after Adriano PanattaIn Roland Garros 1976 and Nicola Piatrangeliagain in Paris in 1959 and 1960.

“There’s always pressure when you play a Slam, but it’s a good thing, it’s a privilege. I like being inside the storm of pressure, where I bring out my best tennis,” concluded Sinner, the former skiing prodigy who has just made history in Melbourne. And it’s worth more…