Jannik Sinner defends Australian Open title

 

                                               (Credit: Getty Images) 

Jannik Sinner came into the Australian Open as the No. 1 ranked player in the world, seeking to defend his title. While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was unable to defend her title, losing to Madison Keys in the final, Sinner was able to get the job done, defeating No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the final 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. By defending his Australian Open crown, the 23 year old Sinner now has won three grand slam titles and has an iron grip on the world No. 1 ranking. 

During his two weeks Down Under, Sinner only dropped two sets. Sinner dropped the opening set against wild card Tristan Schoolkate in the 2nd round before eventually winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 and then he dropped the second set against No. 13 Holger Rune in the 4th round, winning that match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The rest were all straight set victories, which is pretty dominating. 

What Sinner did a great job of was winning his service points. He won 81% of his first serve points, which ranked 7th in the tournament and 4th among players who played in 4+ matches. As for his second serve, he won 62% of those points, which ranked 7th in the tournament and first among players who played in 3+ matches. The interesting thing about that is Sinner wasn't getting a lot of aces. He ranked 10th in the tournament in total aces with 59, but when you consider he played in seven matches, his aces per match (8.42) was relatively low compared to other guys in the tournament. But he made up for it with great ball placement and putting returners on their back heels even if they were able to get a racket on the ball. 

The other thing Sinner did a great job of was winning tiebreakers. He was 4-0 in tiebreakers during the tournament, which speaks to his mental toughness and resolve. And then just in general, while he did drop a couple of sets, Sinner was never really pushed in this tournament. From start to finish, he was the top player in the field and to his credit he finished the job. 

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, it'll be interesting to see how Sinner does. He's figured out how to win grand slams on the hard court and now needs to figure out how to win on the grass at Wimbledon and the clay at Roland Garros.  Perhaps this will be the year he breaks through on at least one of those surfaces. 

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10 things to look for at the 2024 Australian Open

 The 2024 Australian Open fires up on Sunday, which means it is time for me to write my 10 things to look for. Let's dive in! If you want to check out the draws, click here. 

#1. Can Novak Djokovic defend his title? Novak Djokovic is the defending Australian Open champion on the men's side and the number one ranked player in the world. He has won the Australian Open 10 times and will be gunning for a 25th grand slam title, which would add to his already record total. Given that he is the best player in the world and also has had more success at the Australian Open than any other grand slam, he's the heavy favorite here. It's just a matter of him backing it up. 

#2. Can Aryna Sabalenka defend her title? Aryna Sabalenka is the defending Australian Open champion on the women's side and is the number two ranked player in the world. Last year's Australian Open title is her lone grand slam title. She is coming into this tournament having reached the 2023 US Open final, so in the past two hard court slams, she has reached the final. That bodes well for her chances. I would be very surprised if we don't at least see her reach the semifinals. 

#3. Can Carlos Alcaraz make a run? Carlos Alcaraz is the number two player in the world so on paper he should be favored to at least reach the final against Djokovic. That said, the furthest he has gone at the Australian Open is the 3rd round in 2022. He missed the event last year and so in many ways, this is his first Australian Open being ranked as high as he is. He won his first grand slam at the 2022 US Open and aside from missing the 2023 Australian Open has reached the semis of every grand slam since including winning it all at Wimbledon last year. Still, he hasn't done anything of real significance at the Australian Open yet.

#4. Can Coco Gauff make a run? Coco Gauff comes in ranked #4 in the world, fresh off her US Open title in 2023. She's a major contender to win the Australian Open in 2024. However, the furthest she has gone in the Australian Open is the 4th round in 2023 and 2020. It's been a bit of a challenge for her to make a run in this event. Will this year be different? 

#5. Can Daniil Medvedev get back to his old form? Daniil Medvedev is ranked #3 in the world, but he's coming off a 2023 that was a mixed bag: A 3rd round exit at the Australian Open, a 1st round exit at the French Open, a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon, and a run to the final at the US Open. He's getting back to what he's been when you look at the last two grand slams. This year's Australian Open is huge for him in terms of continuing that momentum.

#6. Can Iga Świątek get one step closer to a career slam? It's about time I bring up the number one ranked player on the women's side: Iga Świątek. She has won three French Opens and also one US Open in 2022. As for the Australian Open, the furthest she has gone is the semifinals in 2022. Coming in as the number ranked player in the world, a lot of people will be putting down money on her to win it all. The question is can she win this event. She's shown she can win grand slams, especially French Opens. Now it's a matter of her showing she's a threat at every slam. 

#7. Can Jannik Sinner back up his ranking? Jannik Sinner is ranked #4 in the world despite only having one grand slam semifinal appearance in his career at Wimbledon last year. Last year, he lost in the 4th round at the Australian Open and US Open while falling in the 2nd round at the French Open. It's time he starts to back up his ranking. If you are a top four player in the world, especially in this hard court dominant era, you can't be flaming out before the quarterfinals. 

#8. Can Victoria Azarenka go the distance? Victoria Azarenka comes in as the #18 seed in the tournament. Of all the grand slams, the Australian Open has by far been her best event. She won back-to-back Aussie Open titles in 2012 & 2013 and reached the semifinals in 2023 when everyone thought she was past her prime. It would be fun to see her make another deep run this year. 

#9. Will Alex de Minaur make Australia proud? Alex de Minaur is the top ranked Aussie on the men's side ranked #10 in the world. The furthest he's gone at a grand slam is the quarterfinals at the US Open in 2020. As for the Australian Open, he's reached the 4th round twice in 2022 & 2023, so he's had some success at his home country's slam. However, as the highest ranking Aussie man, he's gotta go deeper than that. If he can at least reach the quarterfinals, that'll be a successful run for him. 

#10. How far will Caroline Wozniacki go? Caroline Wozniacki is back on tour, reaching the 4th round of the US Open in 2023. She had to get a wild card for this year's Australian Open, but now that she's gotten that wild card, she's looking to do some damage. In women's tennis anything can happen. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see her reach the 4th round or better. It'll be fun to see how she does. 

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