Boom went the forehand winner down the line on match point against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. Boom went the forehand winner down the line on championship point against Daniil Medvedev in the final.
New arrival Jannik Sinner understandably had a few wobbles in the home stretch of the Australian Open. But the Italian knew how to finish with aplomb, and men’s tennis is now in a more reassuring place.
“Once you get into a fourth or fifth set, it really just becomes about what lies inside you,” said Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s coaches. “He had the answers inside him. You just have to force yourself to push through those moments to come up with the big shots and believe and be brave.”
Legitimate renewal is a necessity, not a luxury, as the Big Three age out, and Carlos Alcaraz, the most dazzling young talent in the sport, has been searching for his A game since beating Djokovic in five irresistible sets to win Wimbledon last July. Downturn or no downturn, I remain a big believer in Alcaraz, the acrobatic 20-year-old crowd magnet from Murcia, Spain. Surely, he and his thoughtful coach Juan Carlos Ferrero will get the expectation game and shot selection figured out.
But the 22-year-old Sinner’s rise and convincing run to his first Grand Slam singles title gives men’s tennis another bona fide next-generation major champion to build on. It does not hurt that Sinner, like Alcaraz, comes from a traditional tennis nation and major European market.