by Gaia Piccardi
Here are Jannik Sinner’s weapons to beat Medvedev in the final: «Service, ability to go to the net, change of pace with the backhand long line and the forehand narrow diagonal»
Jannik Sinner will mark it on the calendar of existence with the little red circle (quote Rino Tommasi, who would have had great fun telling the story of the red baron’s flight into the tennis sky), this Sunday 28 January 2024.
Here is the live broadcast of the Sinner-Medvedev final
Sinner, perfect route
On the center of Melbourne Park he faces Daniil Medvedev, a Russian who is one step ahead of him in the rankings (n.3 against n.4), in the final of the first Slam of the season at 9.30 am (Italian: here is the article on where to watch the final) , the Australian Open, the first of his career. Jannik arrives at the (for now) most important event of his sporting life from a perfect path, during which he and his team have really left nothing to chance: 1 4h22′ the time spent on the pitch (almost double Medvedev, 20h33′, forced to resume matches with Ruusuvuori, Hurkacz and Zverev by the skin of his teeth), just 59 games lost in six games, only two breaks conceded (with Van de Zandschulp and Khachanov, zero with Djokovic!) and one set to the best, the Serbian was reduced to an appearance in the semi-final.
With the triumph really one step away, and coming off three consecutive victories with Medvedev (Beijing, Vienna and Turin at the ATP Finals) after having been 6-0 down in head-to-head matches until last August, Sinner is the favorite for a match that the Russian chess player won’t make it easy for him, but the blue player has all the weapons to defuse the traps that will be sown by his opponent. Let’s see why together with Barbara Rossi, former n.60 in the ranking, Eurosport talent (she and Jacopo Lo Monaco will comment on the final) and excellent disseminator, for clarity and competence, of professional tennis on TV.
Let’s try to play the match on paper: «I see Sinner as the favorite with one caveat: it is a Slam final, an unprecedented situation for him, he will have a lot of emotion on him – explains Rossi -. But Jannik is hot-cold, he will know how to handle it. On the other hand he finds himself against a very intelligent rival, perhaps a little tired but with a head of special brilliance, capable of reopening every match: in this Australian Open he demonstrated it.”
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Sinner is fresher than Medvedev
Jannik’s path in the tournament speaks in his favor compared to the Russian:
«He reached the final with the path of a true champion: he will be able to count on all the energy available, he didn’t leave any useless games lying around, he saved himself for the final. And he has one more certainty: he tested the fourth set with Djokovic and felt great, no weakness in his head or body. The match point that he had wasted in the third set, he had the patience to go and get it, and realize it, in the fourth. An impressive solidity.”
Medvedev, on the other hand, was on the court for an eternity: «It’s part of the nature of his tennis – says Barbara -. He is a tennis player who starts from the back, takes your measurements, makes you run and play badly. He needs time to weave his plot. He exhausts you, but he also exhausts himself: inevitably the Russian wastes energy. We heard him complain to his box in the marathon with Zverev: I have no more energy in my legs, he said. Sinner is cool: an important advantage in the humidity and, often, the wind of Melbourne.”
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Sinner-Medvedev: the precedents
Let’s retrace the history of the three finals won by Sinner with Medvedev
: at the ATP 500 in Beijing (7-6, 7-6), at the ATP 500 in Vienna (7-6, 4-6, 6-3), in the semifinals at the ATP Finals (6-3, 6-7 , 6-1). Match, even when closed in two sets, always very close. Barbara Rossi: «There was a time, until August 2023, when Jannik faced Medvedev playing like him: baseline exchanges, long dribbles, furious chases. He arrived at the end drained of energy, and lost. Furthermore, the service was not what it is today: it was more difficult. Then the turning point. In Beijing, the first time, he beat the Russian by going to the net and shortening the rallies: net play, after all, was the extra element that Jannik had set out to learn. In China, Medvedev was surprised: he didn’t expect it. In Vienna, knowing what to expect, the Russian served significantly better and increased the pace, generating very tough rallies from the baseline. But Sinner found the countermoves: being physically stronger, he understood that he could trust his body and withstood the impact well. The same thing happened in Turin; furthermore, in the meantime, Jannik has taken measures in service of his rival: now he expects the central blow and knows how to respond.”
Sinner, service and physical
The strengthening of the physique and the growth of the serve, with the return to the “foot up” movement, are decisive in this Sinnerian evolution: “Now the dynamics of the serve are totally his, metabolised: with Khachanov in the quarterfinals Jannik was able to allow himself to win with few firsts, however supported by an excellent second ball. And Djokovic didn’t have any break points, a detail that drove him crazy…”.
Sinner’s strengths
Here are the weapons for Sunday’s final: «Service, ability to go to the net, change of pace with the backhand long line and the forehand narrow diagonal
. Against an opponent who responds so far behind the baseline, the short ball will also be needed, of course. Without forgetting the variations of the serve: if you hit the shot and he returns from eight meters behind, you have to vary with the slice, as well as looking for the ace.”
The mental aspect of the challenge
Sinner found confidence and further conviction in his abilities along the way, Medvedev recovered matches that were almost lost: he knows he risked his life several times. «Precisely for this reason the Russian feels capable of anything, he has reacted to situations that last year would have crushed him. But Sinner’s journey over many years must be underlined: we are not talking about an explosion in Melbourne, but about a constant growth curve that brought him to number 4 in the ranking at just 22 years old. He has incorporated things into his tennis that have slowly become certainties, now absolute: he is like the pianist who practices the most difficult score, then arrives at the concert and performs it perfectly.
Furthermore, today Jannik is the tennis player who shoots the hardest of all: strong, and from close to the court. Just listen to the noise the ball makes: very heavy. His game is annoying. The forehand is much improved: he has made it more compact and it is a spinning ball, not flatter. On his legs he is always very low: on his backhand he transfers the weight onto the ball, which launches like a rocket. The physical improvement gives him the certainty of being able to remain on the court indefinitely, shaping his tennis.”
Perhaps Djokovic is right when he claims that the Australian Open is part of the previous season, not yet a new season: the time to prepare for the long trip is short, Jannik managed to give himself the opportunity to recover (skiing in Alto Adige) but also to work, adding new elements to his baggage and prolonging the magical inertia of the end of the 2023 season, with the final at the ATP Finals and the conquest, 47 years later, of the Davis Cup.
Australian Open final aside, what still needs to improve on Sinner? «Sensitivity: he can have more of a hand when he has to make touch shots or changes of pace – replies Barbara Rossi -, while I liked him a lot in running backs, fast lows. The forward game: we can work on the effectiveness of volleys and net positions. They are all small details, it’s obvious: Jannik will become better and better at facing important moments, at playing his best tennis when it counts. It’s Djokovic’s path, after all: equipping himself with all the answers for all the players.”
At Sinner’s level, today, there is only Sinner: «Rune wants to break the ball, tries to shoot harder and harder: it’s not enough. So you can’t find continuity. Alcaraz is involved: in my opinion he was scared when he had cramps with Djokovic in Paris, he fears the three out of five match will get longer, he is in too much of a hurry to shorten it. He knows how to do many things with the ball but he must learn to manage matches based on the opponent: he must learn patience, and then change gear along the way. With Medvedev in New York Alcaraz entered confident of winning, feeling superior, but feeling superior makes you play the wrong way. Jannik, on the contrary, has this humility.”
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January 27, 2024 (modified January 28, 2024 | 09:39)
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