Sinner on his dramatic Australian Open win: ‘I like to dance in the pressure storm’

Ever since he burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2019, Jannik Sinner has been touted for Grand Slam glory.

Being talked about as one of tennis’ future greats has proven hard to handle for many prodigious talents of the past. Yet Sinner appeared completely at ease with the task at hand on Sunday at the Australian Open, where the Italian rallied from two sets down to defeat Danill Medvedev and lift his maiden major trophy in Melbourne.

“There is always pressure, but the pressure is something good,” said Sinner in his post-match press conference, where he was asked about how he has handled expectations so far in his young career. “You have to take it in a good way. It's a privilege, because there are not so many players who have this kind of pressure. In another way, when you have pressure, it means [that people] believe that I can really do it.

“I like to dance in the pressure storm. Personally, I like it, because that's where most of the time I bring out my best tennis. I'm also quite relaxed on this occasion, because I always try to enjoy on the court. I think pressure is a privilege, to be honest.”

Sinner’s ability to keep his cool in a difficult situation was put to the ultimate test against Medvedev inside Rod Laver Arena. The Italian hardly performed badly across the opening two sets of the championship match, but he was powerless to stop an ultra-attacking Medvedev from surging to within a set of his second Grand Slam title.

“I was expecting something different from his side, so I had this feeling that he might come out a little bit more aggressive, but not this aggressive,” said Sinner of Medvedev’s gameplan. “He played really, really well for the first two sets or two-and-a-half sets. I just tried to play an even level, tried to take a couple of chances in the third set, which I did.

“When you win one very important game, the match can change occasionally, and that was the case today. I just tried to stay as long in the court as possible, knowing that he has spent so many hours on the court. The more the match goes on, maybe physically I'm a little bit better today, because he played so many hours.

“I think that today that was the key.”

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Lifting his maiden major trophy comes after six highly successful months for Sinner, who won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto last August. He backed up that breakthrough with ATP 500 crowns in Beijing and Vienna, where he defeated Medvedev in both finals, before reaching the championship match on home soil at November’s Nitto ATP Finals.

For Sinner, there is more to his recent successes than simply a sudden streak of good form. The 22-year-old believes that long-term thinking by him and his team has been key.

“I think what I did not last year, but two years ago, getting to know my body better, getting to know my team better, this was a very important step for me,” said Sinner. “Then last year we tried to have some more results. I started off really well from the indoor tournaments. Indian Wells, Miami, I made [the] semi-final and final. Then also in Monte-Carlo I made a semi-final. Then the semis in Wimbledon.

“So I had very good results, I think, that made me believe that I can compete against the best players in the world. But [here] I still have to process it, because beating Novak [Djokovic] in the semis and then today Daniil in the final, they are tough players to beat. So it's a great moment for me and my team, but we also know that we have to improve if we want to have another chance to hold a big trophy again.

“This is all the process, and the hard work occasionally will pay off.”

With his triumph in Melbourne, Sinner became just the ninth active Grand Slam men’s singles winner, the first new Australian Open champion since Stan Wawrinka in 2014, and the first Italian male to win a major outside Roland Garros. Even prior to his stunning comeback win against Medvedev, the No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings believed such an achievement was well within his capabilities.

“It's special, because it's a big trophy,” said Sinner. “It feels special when you see the big names in the draw and you can win it, because I feel even more privileged to only be in the draw and then trying to win against other players.

“The more you go on, you see fewer people around in the locker room or in the eating area. This makes you feel, ‘Okay, I'm doing a good tournament at the moment’. That was exactly the feeling I had in the last three rounds or so, because from the quarters it was quite empty. I think that is a really, really good feeling.”