Last Sunday, Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open title in Melbourne, lifting the Norman Brookes Trophy for the second consecutive year to become the only Italian man ever to win three Grand Slam titles, all at just 23 years of age. The World Number 1 did so in emphatic fashion, outplaying the German Sascha Zverev in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-3) without conceding a single break point. Only two other times have players won a Grand Slam final without yielding a break point: Federer at the 2003 Wimbledon and Nadal at the 2017 US Open. However, this was a different level of achievement - Federer played an unseeded player, and Nadal played the 28th seed. Sinner played the World number two.

The dominant nature of his win is difficult to overstate; yet watching the match, it felt like Sinner was playing at 60, maybe 70 per cent of his full potential. In fact, throughout the tournament, he wasn’t playing at his maximum. Such is Sinner’s talent, he only ever needs a level of 6 or 7 out of 10 to win - and win convincingly. He makes his opponents lose without them even realising it - a characteristic he shares only with the greatest male player of all time, Novak Djokovic.

“I serve better than Jannik, everything else: he does better”

Sinner’s dominance is even more impressive, given what he has been dealing with off the court. After returning a positive doping test last year, Sinner was under investigation by the ITIA (Tennis’ Integrity Agency). An Independent Panel cleared him of any wrongdoing, deeming that he was at “no fault or negligence” for the contamination that resulted in less than a billionth of a gram of the banned substance Clostebol being found in his body. However, late last year, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) decided to appeal the case to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport), with the hearing date set for the 16-17th April. He risks a maximum ban of 2 years, and this was no doubt loud in his mind every time the stadium fell quiet before a serve. He has stated in the past that he loves to “dance in the eye of the pressure storm,” but the WADA appeal provides a different challenge. His ability to block out the noise, compartmentalise and bring immense focus and grit when it matters is truly remarkable.

The only person that is currently able to compete with Sinner is Carlos Alcaraz. Together, they have won 6 of the last 7 slams, and have won all 7 of the slam finals they have participated in. Many comparisons have been made between them and the Big Three (Djokovic, Nadal and Federer), and the last 18 months have firmly marked the start of a new era, with Sinner and Alcaraz leaving slim pickings for the rest of the competition.

“Madison Keys had one of the most incredible runs to the title ever seen at the first Grand Slam of the year”

Players like Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Rublev have unfortunately been caught in the middle of these two dominant eras. At the Australian Open this year, Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Rublev each lost in the first two rounds to players even younger than Alcaraz and Sinner. This so-called “Lost Generation” have fallen victim to the Big Three era, and is now falling victim to the Sinner-Alcaraz era. Zverev seemed resigned to the fact that he might not ever be able to beat the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz in a Major. Speaking in the press conference after his 3rd consecutive defeat in a Major Final, Zverev said, “I serve better than Jannik, everything else: he does better.” Even on the court, his body language was noticeably flat. Players born in the 90s are now at a win-loss ratio of 2-20 in Grand Slam Finals, and with players like Jack Draper, Ben Shelton, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien breaking through, I struggle to see how the ‘Lost-Generation’ will be able to pick up another Major title.

Novak, 37, now coached by Andy Murray, also still proves a significant factor. The legendary Serbian beat Alcaraz in the headline Quarter-Final this year whilst having a muscle tear in his hamstring, which subsequently forced him to retire in the semi-final against Zverev. Father time is catching up to him no doubt, but I would be prudent before writing him off for the rest of the Grand Slams this year.

On the women’s side, Madison Keys had one of the most incredible runs to the title ever seen at the first Grand Slam of the year. Over the past two weeks, on her way to lifting her maiden Grand Slam trophy, she played some incredible tennis, battling past Rybakina, Swiatek and Sabalenka, all of whom were favourites before the tournament. After Keys only won 3 games in her first and only previous major final in 2017, it took her 8 years to give herself the chance to play for a major trophy again. This time, things were different. Keys was able to focus her energy on playing some inspired tennis, conscious of the fact that her career wasn’t determined by the loud opinions of people around her. After her win, Keys said that “[she] got to a point where [she] was proud of herself and proud of her career with or without a Grand Slam […] letting go of the pressure [of winning a Major title].” Her newfound freedom allowed her to play inspired tennis throughout the tournament, saving match points by painting the lines with forehand winners, and ultimately winning the title.

Another notable story of this year’s tournament was that of Lucky Loser Eva Lys, who lost in the qualifying tournament and had a flight booked back home, before being reselected due to the withdrawal of another player. She then rescheduled her flight and made it all the way to the second week in a career-best performance, almost doubling her career prize money in the process.

This Australian Open teaches us that trophies are lifted by embracing the pressure, blocking out the noise, and trusting the process by accepting the good and the bad. The resilient victories of both Sinner and Keys bring to mind a quote by Rudyard Kipling that is pasted above the entrance to Centre Court at Wimbledon: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.”

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