Jannik Sinner receives felicitations from Pope Francis on historic Australian Open title

Jannik Sinner became only the third Italian man in tennis history to win a Major title on Sunday (January 28), beating Daniil Medvedev from a two-sets-to-love deficit in the 2024 Australian Open championship match. The victory marked a watershed moment for Italy, prompting Pope Francis to share his thoughts on the 22-year-old's success in Melbourne.

Sinner suffered from nerves at the beginning of the match, dropping the first two sets without much of a fight. The Italian, however, began playing with more conviction as the match went on, winning the last three sets to complete a 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory against the third-seeded Medvedev.

The news of Jannik Sinner's Melbourne triumph soon reached Pope Francis, who was giving a sermon at the Real Club de Tenis in Barcelona. The Catholic Church's figurehead was pleased with Sinner putting his country on the tennis map, saying:

“Today we have to congratulate the Italians because, yesterday, they won in Australia. So we congratulate them, too.”

The 87-year-old also waxed philosophical about tennis, continuing:

"It would seem that the objective of the game is to be better than the opponent. In tennis, as in life, we can’t always win. But it’s an enriching challenge if it is played in an educated manner according to the rules. Sports are not just about competing but also relations. And in the case of tennis, it’s a dialogue that often becomes artistic.”

For the record, only five Italian players have won a singles Major title since the inception of tennis. They are Jannik Sinner (2024 Australian Open), Adriano Panatta (1976 Roland Garros), Nicola Pietrangeli (1959-60 Roland Garros), Francesca Schiavone (2010 Roland Garros) and Flavia Pennetta (2015 US Open).

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Jannik Sinner pulls out of ATP 250 tournament in Marseille after Melbourne heroics, schedule to play in Rotterdam next

Jannik Sinner retrieves a ball at the 2023 ABN AMRO Open 2023

Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, has withdrawn from the 2024 Open 13 Provence, which begins on February 5. The news doesn't come as a surprise, considering the Italian might need some rest from his arduous campaign at the Australian Open.

The Italian is next scheduled to play at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, where he would be joined by top 10 players such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz.

Sinner has participated at the ATP 500 tournament twice in his career. While the 22-year-old finished as the runner-up to Medvedev last year in Rotterdam, his first appearance at the tournament ended in the quarterfinals in 2020.