Jannik Sinner all smiles as he meets Andre Agassi at Australian Open 2024, expresses gratitude for the encounter

Jannik Sinner recently expressed his gratitude at meeting eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi at the 2024 Australian Open.

Agassi, a four-time Australian Open champion, arrived in Melbourne as an honored guest for this year's tournament. He participated in the opening ceremony alongside Evonne Goolagong Cawley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her maiden title and the arrival of the trophies.

Sinner shared a picture of his encounter with the American legend on his Instagram story on Sunday, January 14. In the picture, the Italian, his coach Darren Cahill, and Agassi can be seen smiling and having a conversation during Sinner’s practice session at the Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner captioned the picture with a folded hands emoji.

"🙏," he wrote.

Jannik Sinner on Instagram

Jannik Sinner started his Australian Open campaign with a strong performance, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in the first round. He hit 26 winners and seven aces in a match that lasted two hours and 34 minutes.

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Jannik Sinner faces Jesper De Jong at the 2024 Australian Open 2R

Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner will take on qualifier Jesper De Jong in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Wednesday (January 17).

Sinner, who won his first Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open, recorded his best performance at Melbourne Park in 2022 when he reached the quarterfinals. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the last eight.

De Jong, currently ranked No. 161 in singles, made his Grand Slam main-draw debut on Sunday, where he beat Pedro Cachin in four sets.

Sinner is the clear favorite to win the match, as he has more experience and success at the highest level. The Italian has 10 ATP titles to his name, including three at the 500 level and one at the Masters 1000 level. He also reached the final of the 2023 ATP Finals, where he lost to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

De Jong, on the other hand, has two ATP Challenger titles in singles, which he won in Almaty (2021) and Grodzisk Mazowiecki (2023). He also has seven ATP Challenger titles in doubles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 135 in that discipline in 2022.

This will be the first meeting between Sinner and De Jong on the ATP tour. The winner will face either Daniel Elahi Galan or Sebastian Baez in the third round.