Italy’s
Jannik Sinner has achieved yet another milestone.
The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as the best player currently playing
in men’s tennis in the singles category, lifted his third Grand Slam title on
Sunday in Melbourne.
He defeated world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev in
straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. During that win, Sinner achieved a
unique milestone. He became the player with the most consecutive sets wins against the top 10 players in men’s tennis.
The previous record was held by former world number one Switzerland’s
Roger Federer, who won 20 consecutive sets against the top-10 players in the 2006-07 season. With Sunday's straight-set win, Sinner has now won 22 consecutive sets
against the top-10 players.
Sunday’s win was remarkable on so many levels. He became only
the fifth player in the Open era to win three successive Grand Slams in the
singles category in men’s tennis on hard court. He also became the first player
in eight years to win a Grand Slam without facing a single break point in the final.
Talking after the match, Sinner stated how difficult it was
to defend his title and also explained that on the day of the final, he felt
good from the beginning and it helped him gain the momentum against the world
number two.
“Defending the title is always different,” he said while
speaking to Eurosport, as quoted by CNN. “You have this extra pressure, but I
always enjoy it. Every match has been very tough. I felt like I was starting
the match very well. Feeling the ball, hitting it well, and aggressive. In the
third set I tried to search for the break and keep the serve. I served very
well today. I do struggle sometimes, you have days where you feel worse but
everyday can be different. I can raise my level from every day and that’s what
I was searching for.”