Italian tennis star and World No.4 Jannik Sinner met Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni on Monday following his men's singles Australian Open 2024 triumph.
Sinner claimed his first Grand Slam title by defeating World No.3 Daniil Medvedev in five-set thriller - 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 3-6 at Melbourne Major. The 22-year-old stunned World No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semifinal to make it to first Major final of his career.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shared a video on her official Instagram handle, where she can be seen welcoming Jannik Sinner to her official residence. She also telecasted Sinner's championship point and then posed with the Norman Brookes Trophy with newly crowned Australian Open champion.
"The Italy we like: capable of believing in itself and reacting to difficult challenges. And to win. Thank you for the example you have set, Jannik, to the lovers of sports, to our young people and to the whole of Italy" Giorgia Meloni wrote on Instagram.
Jannik Sinner was the first player since 2014 apart from Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win the men's singles Australian Open title. He was the first Italian player since Adriano Panatta in 1976 French Open to win a Grand Slam title in Men's Singles.
Additionally, Sinner was the youngest male player since Novak Djokovic in 2008 to win the Australian Open title
Jannik Sinner professional career
Jannik Sinner turned professional in 2018 when he began participating ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. In 2019, the youngster won his first ATP Challenger Tour title at the age of 17. That year, Sinner made it to his first Grand Slam main draw at US Open, where lost the opening round to 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka.
In 2020, Jannik Sinner won his ATP Tour title at Sofia Open, defeating Vasek Pospisil in the final. In the following year, he had a big breakthrough season as he won three singles titles at Great Ocean Road Open, Citi Open and Sofia Open and won men's doubles title at the Atlanta Open. Also, Sinner reached his first ATP Masters 1000 Final at Miami Open, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz.
In 2022, Jannik Sinner continued his good run and reached the men's singles quarterfinals at Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The 22-year-old clinched his first clay court title at Croatia Open, defeating Carlos Alcaraz. In the next calendar season, Sinner clinched his first Masters 1000 title at Canadian Open, defeating his compatriot Matteo Berrettini. But, his most prized moment was winning his maiden Davis Cup title with Italy.
In 2024, Jannik Sinner started his season with Australian Open and emerged as the champion at Melbourne Major. The Italian star is likely to return to action for Rotterdam Cup in Netherlands after withdrawing from Open 13 in Marseille, France.
