Grand Slam Jannik

Woe betide anyone who names him, that doesn't even cross our minds. In reality, the very recent victory at the Australian Open by Jannik Sinner forces us to put aside even healthy Italian superstition and pronounce: 'Grand Slam'. The numbers that define the profile of the Alto Adige champion are too strong, with figures that whisper in the ear of the big 3 and make the prospect of seeing the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria lift all the Major cups ever more tantalizing. Putting the statistics aside for a moment, Jannik's almost absolute dominance in the Australian Slam seemed evident, stronger even than ailments and viruses.

In Melbourne he showed that he can handle the weight of the reconfirmation and he will have to do the same with his crown as number 1 in tennis, targeting those two slams that he is missing, outside the hard surface that he loves so much and which currently has 21 consecutive victories in the Majors he has won. As are the 21 matches won since his last defeat (against Carlos Alcaraz in the Beijing final). In recent months Sinner has literally left crumbs even to his big opponents, winning 10 matches in a row against a top 10 without ever losing a set. Then, those zero breaks suffered in the final, only two tennis players since 2000 had managed to keep their service games immaculate. Coincidentally Federer in 2003 and Nadal in 2017. For this reason, even his coaches put the conquest of the Grand Slam in the dimension of the possible.

Then there is the dimension of an extraordinary double at the Australian Open. At 23 years and 163 days, Jannik is the youngest to have done so since Jim Courier (1993), who however was already 4 at his age. The numbers tell of an incredible intensity of play and commitments. For this reason, after a 2024 very similar to a tour de force, Sinner has decided to take a short break before the Indian Wells-Miami double and the trip to America. The Italian will not play the Rotterdam tournament to defend the ATP 500 title lifted last year. "After talking about it with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw. My body needs to rest after the long run in Australia", he communicated yesterday, while he was busy with the ritual photo shoots with the cup.

Then, having packed up his bags, he took the flight to Europe with Zverev and an agenda that immediately became packed. Tomorrow the Slam champion should be at the Quirinale with Mattarella: "Let's see if I make it in time", he said. He is also expected at the ATP 500 in Doha, from 17 to 22 February. From there it will be a race to the best form and another big goal, that of opening an important parenthesis on clay. Yes, that clay that was the cause for his bad hip and that will be the backdrop (probably during the ATP in Monaco) for the hearing at the Tas in Lausanne in mid-April. In the sports world, the ruling on the Clostebol case is certainly the most anticipated of the year, if not among the most important in recent decades. Only that - Wada is asking for a 1 to 2 year disqualification - can put a spoke in the wheels of the race of a champion of such size.

Gabriele Tassi