Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, showed great determination in his match against Ben Shelton on Friday. He won with scores of 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2, and is back in the final of the Australian Open, hoping to win his third Grand Slam title.
Sinner, who is the top-ranked player and just 23 years old, faced a tough challenge in the first set. He was behind and almost lost it when Shelton served at 6-5. However, Sinner stayed calm, broke Shelton’s serve, and then won the tiebreaker easily. He also started the second set with a break of serve.
“This first set was very tough, but it was really important,” Sinner said. He managed to extend his winning streak to 20 matches going back to last season.
In the last two sets, Sinner did have some issues with cramps in his legs, but he kept playing. A trainer helped him by massaging his legs during breaks. Sinner is now the youngest man to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian Open since Jim Courier did it in 1992-93. Interestingly, Courier interviewed Sinner after the match!
Sinner already won his first major title at the Australian Open last year and followed it up with another win at the U.S. Open in September. He is still waiting for a decision about a doping issue that is being reviewed, with a hearing coming up in April.
Next, Sinner will compete against No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the final. Zverev reached his third major final after Djokovic had to retire due to injury. “Anything can happen,” Sinner said about Zverev. “He’s an amazing player, and I know it will be a tense match.”
Leave a Reply