It seemed to be over from the start.
The World Number Three, the former US Open champion, the top Russian player in a golden age of Russian tennis, Daniil Medvedev was storming out the gates. It was 6-3, 5-1 within about an hour. He was a freight train barreling down the tracks and heading right at Italy’s prodigy Jannik Sinner.
Sinner had no answers for Medvedev. Even the commentators were struggling to come up with a solution. They seemed to be glad that they were in the booth and not in Jannik’s corner having to come up with a game plan.
Keep the rallies short? Medvedev won. Grind it out? Medvedev won. Play aggressive to the net? Medvedev won. Hang back and give yourself time? Medvedev won. Simply put there was no stopping him.
But then that great form started to wear off. He wasn’t playing poorly, he was playing like a human. And it breathed life into Sinner. He scrapped his way to a break, held serve, and nearly broke to return on serve before Medvedev closed out the second set 6-3. But that little bit of pushback opened the door. There was a chance at a comeback.
One chance was all he needed.
From that moment on Jannik Sinner served like his life depended on it. And he held all the way to 5-4, when his first real opportunity to threaten Medvedev came, and he took it and ran with it. Winning the set 6-4. Now we had a match.
The next set was still fairly even. It felt like Sinner had to hold each game, and no matter how much pressure he could not seem to get that break he was looking for. But once again, the break came and it was all he needed. 6-4 in the fourth set, Sinner took it the distance. From out of nowhere he came back like a boxer coming off the canvas after having been knocked down. Now it was Jannik Sinner with all the momentum.
And in the fifth set there was no stopping this one. Sinner closed out the match at 6-3. Were there signs of nerves in the young Italian? Sure. Some shots missed that looked a little shaky. But we also saw the heart of the 22 year old from South Tyrol. At no point in this match did he ever give up. And for that he is rewarded with his first major championship. And in my mind it most certainly won’t be his last.
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