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Jannik Sinner won his first Major title in thrilling fashion at the 2024 Australian Open on Sunday (January 28), overcoming a two-sets-to-love deficit to beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Sinner had a slow start to the championship match in Melbourne, being broken four times in the first two sets. The Italian, however, showed incredible resilience as the match wore on. He stayed on par with the former US Open champion before breaking in the last games of the third and fourth sets to take them 6-4 and 6-4, respectively.
The decider for the men's singles title at the 2024 Australian Open saw some high-quality tennis from Sinner, who broke Medvedev in the sixth game of the final set. Three games later, the Italian hit a scorching down-the-line forehand to seal his maiden Grand Slam triumph.
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Carlos Alcaraz, the World No. 2 and a good friend of Jannik Sinner, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle a few minutes later to congratulate the latter on his achievement. The Spaniard expressed happiness at the Italian's watershed triumph, insisting that no other player deserved it more than the World No. 4.
"I am so happy for you Jannik! You deserve it more than anyone! Enjoy the moment my friend! @janniksin," Carlos Alcaraz wrote, along with a few emojis.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is a two-time Major winner, having won the titles at Wimbledon 2023 and the 2022 US Open. The 20-year-old could've met his good friend in the championship match Down Under, but fell to an in-form Alexander Zverev in four sets in the quarterfinals.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have a healthy rivalry on the ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have met seven times on the ATP Tour thus far, with the Italian edging their rivalry by a close margin of 4-3. While Sinner is tied 1-1 with Alcaraz in their Grand Slam meetings, he can take pride in having gotten the better of the two-time Major champion in two of their three encounters last year.
Having said that, while the nature of their matches is always close, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz share great camaraderie off the court. The two players were spotted sharing a moment last year at Juan Carlos Ferrero's academy, where he dedicated a court in his pupil's name.
Sinner was apparently elated at Alcaraz being honored and began filming the court-naming ceremony on his phone. The Italian also clicked a hilarious yet adorable photo with his friend one year ago, where they were holding a toddler in their arms.
