[ad_1]
This could be the first of many Grand Slam victories
When Jannik Sinner played his first grand slam final at the recently concluded Australian Open, he started the match looking utterly confused and devoid of ideas. The only instruction that he repeatedly got from his box was to “stay aggressive”. The advice seemed preposterous, for Sinner could not get even the basics right, while his opponent was getting everything right. Sinner was two sets down; his movement looked rusty, forehand flew into the night sky, backhand crashed into the nets, and his drop shots were never out of the reach of Daniil Medvedev, who moved around the court with great swagger, and played the best tennis of his life in the first two sets. But at the start of the third set, a switch flicked at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park, and Sinner suddenly had answers to all the questions hitting him. The hesitation wore off, and his strokes now had great conviction: the last three sets being an exercise of atonement for the sins he committed in the first two.
It helped Sinner that tiredness caught up with his opponent, who is not only five years older but had also played multiple five-setters on his way to the final. Medvedev’s quick start was all about immaculate improvisation and great execution of his gameplan, but traits that brought him to the fleeting distance of triumph started abandoning him as the game progressed. The verve on his serve was nowhere to be found, his groundstrokes lost the zing, and he moved around the court with the weight of an old and weary man. No player in the history of tennis has lost multiple majors after going two sets up until yesterday, and this is what makes Sinner’s maiden grand slam a humongous feat. He faced adversity and despair but came out stronger than anyone could have imagined.
You don’t need the dust to settle down; for the absurdity of Sinner’s achievement is instantly recognisable. To win his first grand slam, he passed two of the toughest tests in modern tennis: first, to beat the kingpin of modern-day tennis Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of a tournament he has won ten times, and second to overturn a two-set deficit against one of the best players in the world. He also became the youngest man since Djokovic in 2008 to win the Australian Open title.
His game a was a mere affirmation of his belief that he “can be nervous but never scared”. In the past, Sinner has had his fair share of soul-crushing defeats in a best-of-five: losing to Djokovic at Wimbledon; Tsitsipas at the Australian Open; and Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S Open. In Melbourne, he yet again found himself on the brink of a catastrophic floundering. Sinner looked perturbed during his free-fall in the opening exchanges but was never scared to try out new things. He never forgot to make a triumphant gesture towards the crowd and his coaches every time he won a big point. It didn’t appear so to the world but inside his mind, he was always there in the game.
Sinner isn’t the most expressive personality going around. Even the fieriest winners are followed by a routine clenched fist. On court, he is someone who gulps up all his pains, not letting the world know of his ecstasy or suffering. There was no scream of anguish—at himself or his team—when things looked grim. There were no fist pumps when he converted his first two set points, not even when he won the match. He simply fell flat on the ground, soaking in the adulation of fans and his achievement, before quickly gathering himself to greet the vanquished.
“It takes a little while to process everything,” Sinner said after winning the game. “I’m extremely happy with how I handled things today. The situation on the court was very, very tough. I think the most important part was the support I had throughout these two weeks. I felt that manypeople were watching also from home, so I just tried my best. I was a little bit in trouble today with two sets to love down and in a little bit over one hour. So, I just tried to stay positive.”
In retrospect, the advice from his coach to stay aggressive doesn’t seem like a vacuous platitude that people in sports mindlessly sprinkle. Sinner’s turnaround was built on aggression and mind-bending belief in his game. Of course, advanced statistics will give you a more detailed and accurate picture, but no matter how much we complicate tennis, sometimes it all comes down to basics like belief, aggression, mental fortitude, and countless other cliches that modern sports want to get away with. With his major grand slam title, Sinner has now taken a huge step in what seems to be a promising career, besides pocketing a whopping $ 2.1 million, and affirming his affiliations with brands like Rolex and Gucci. Are we finally looking at Tennis’ next big package?
[ad_2]
Source link