From promising skier to Grand Slam finalist

TEN years on from choosing the tennis court over racing down slopes as one of Italy’s most promising young skiers, Jannik Sinner is on the cusp of becoming a Grand Slam champion.

The Italian (22) is through to his first major final after a stunning victory over defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.

It was not until the age of 12 that Sinner, a national giant slalom runner-up as a junior, decided to focus solely on tennis.

Had he been able to foresee Friday’s scenes on Rod Laver Arena, where he became the first man to beat Djokovic at Melbourne Park in 2 195 days, it may have been a decision he took sooner.

Now ranked fourth in the world, Gucci ambassador Sinner is one of the sport’s brightest prospects.

And, supported passionately by his loyal carrot-dressed fans, he has the chance to become the youngest Australian Open champion since Djokovic won the first of his 24 Slam titles in 2008.

Growing up in the northern village of San Candido, close to the Austrian border, Sinner’s sporting idol did not hail from a tennis court but was instead Olympic combined skiing champion Bode Miller.

The chance to recover from mistakes in tennis and actively problem-solve — in sharp contrast to competitive skiing — is a key reason why he decided to make the switch which has led him on the path to his first major final.

Co-coached by Simone Vagnozzi and Australian Darren Cahill — who has also assisted former top-ranked men’s players Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray — Sinner has come a long way since making his Grand Slam debut as a 17-year-old qualifier at the 2019 US Open.

Friday’s significant 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 victory over Djokovic further highlighted his rapid rise, coming 18 months after he squandered a two-set lead against the Serb at Wimbledon.

Sinner has been cheered on throughout the highs and lows of his journey to date by the ‘Carota Boys’, a loyal group of Italian fans who attend his matches wearing carrot costumes after Sinner ate one at a changeover during a match in Vienna in 2019.

He joked his fan group had even become more famous than him, but that is certainly not the case after his semi-final upset in Melbourne took him within reach of a breakthrough triumph.

Since achieving his current career-high ranking by winning the China Open in October, he has gone from strength to strength, winning 19 of his past 20 matches and going undefeated as he led Italy to their second Davis Cup title — and beating Djokovic en route.

But if he has gone under the radar beyond the tennis world, the manner of his victory over the most successful men’s player of all time has catapulted him into the limelight.

In his post-match news conference, Sinner was questioned about his modest reaction after ousting Djokovic,  but the Italian simply does not believe he has anything to celebrate just yet.

“Obviously it means so much to me to beat Novak here in Melbourne. But in another way, I know that the tournament is not over,” Sinner explained.

“Sunday (today) is a final. It’s different emotions because the final is always different. It doesn’t really matter how big the tournament is.

“In my mind, I knew it was a semi-final. It’s not that you win the tournament like this. So I’m looking forward for Sunday (today), and let’s see what’s coming.”

A first-time Australian Open champion is guaranteed this year, with Sinner set to face two-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev after the Russian third seed came back from two sets down to defeat Alexander Zverev.

While Sinner lost his first six matches against 2021 US Open champion Medvedev, he has since won the last three —  with each of those victories coming since October.

Regardless of the outcome of today’s final, Sinner hopes the victory over Djokovic will contribute to a growing belief among the new generation of men’s players aiming to replace the era-defining trio of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“What I think we have in common is we believe in ourselves and this helps a lot because in tennis, when you believe, it’s a huge amount already,” Sinner said.

“I’m really relaxed, to be honest. I just try to work as hard as possible and in my mind I feel like the hard work always pays off in one way.

“We are working really hard for our dreams,” he said. — BBC.