Jannik Sinner ‘on a very special journey,’ says Nick Kyrgios
Jannik Sinner is on a ‘very special journey’ in tennis after winning his maiden major at the Australian Open, says Nick Kyrgios.
Sinner, 22, came back from two sets down in the final against Daniil Medvedev, in a game that tested him physically, mentally and technically.
Early on in the contest Sinner was struggling badly, with Medvedev being incredibly aggressive and, unusually for him, regularly coming to the net.
There was also some clear tension in Sinners’ racket arm, which was understandable given it was his first ever major final.
However, he found his game midway through the second set and dug in before finding a way to get on top, and Kyrgios says that ability to learn on the go is something the players have been aware of for some time.
“You feel like this is the beginning of a very special journey,” Kyrgios told Eurosport. “You can see more Grand Slams being added to that tally if he keeps playing like that.
“I’ve said it about 14 times these two weeks; Darren Cahill made some amazing changes to the Sinner serve. I played him and thought that was a little hole in his game but now, dropping serve only twice in a Grand Slam is beyond a joke, the amount of concentration and discipline that takes.
“Jannik is an incredibly nice guy in the locker room. You always see him super professional, but he’s like a sponge.
“Ever since he came on tour that first match he played against Steve Johnson in Rome, the locker room was watching and thinking, ‘Who is this skinny guy, who has the crowd in the palm of his hand?’.
“We could already see the ball-striking. He’s like a sponge; every time he’s got good people around him trying to give him advice that he’s trying to incorporate into his game; always learning, always getting better. Just a good all-round good person.”
You can watch the Australian Open live on Eurosport and Discovery+.
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