Australian Open 2021: Young gun Jannik Sinner serves up grand slam warning with warm-up win

Not since a certain Rafael Nadal 15 years ago has a 19-year-old made such an impression on the ATP Tour. Look out for the name Jannik Sinner in Melbourne this week.

Jannik Sinner showed his undoubted potential with his second ATP Tour title.

Teenage hotshot Jannik Sinner has joined the rarefied air of grand slam legends Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with his Great Ocean Road Open title on Sunday.

Sinner outlasted fellow Italian Stefano Travaglia 7-6(4) 6-4 in the final to guarantee he’ll move to a career-best ranking on the verge of the top 30.

At age 19, the kid labelled by many as tennis’ next big thing is the youngest player to win two ATP Tour titles since Nadal did so at the same age 15 years ago.

Jannik Sinner has been in great form in the lead up to the Australian Open.

Sinner is on a 10-match streak, having wrapped up the 2020 season with his maiden ATP-level title at Sofia, Bulgaria.

Nadal was the last 19-year-old to manage that feat in 2005.

Up next? A pack-your-popcorn clash on Monday night against Canadian 11th seed Denis Shapovalov, a 21-year-old who shapes as one of his great rivals for the next decade.

“I think we’ve made a good preparation, a tough preparation and obviously tomorrow is starting already a new tournament, a new week, new feelings,” Sinner said.

“But what I’ve done, I’ve done. It’s a tough match, for sure, against Denis. I’ll just see how the match is going, and obviously it’s going to be an interesting match.”

Sinner beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur to win the ATP Next Gen Finals at the end of the 2019 season, then slashed his ranking in half to enter the top 40 last year.

De Minaur was also one of his victims on his run to the Sofia title.

Sinner’s gone from playing Challengers at the start of 2020 to the prospect of almost certainly being seeded at this year’s French Open, after reaching the quarter-finals there a year ago.

That’s meant quickly readjusting his expectations.

“I think last year I have done quite well,” he said.

Jannik Sinner is creating a big impression on the ATP Tour.

“I’m looking forward to playing in important matches against important players. I’m feeling improved, I’m trying to improve every day, and I’m waking up with this mentality.

“Then you see where you can go.”

The fascination now is whether Sinner, along with Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, de Minaur, Miomir Kecmanović, Carlos Alcaraz and co, can end the Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer reign.

“I think for the younger generation, it still takes a little bit of time,” Sinner said.

“But I think Thiem is there, Medvedev, Tsitsipas – many players. So it’s going to be interesting.”

Russia’s ‘two-headed monster’ roars in ATP Cup demolition

The Russian invasion of Melbourne Park is almost complete – now Australian Open glory beckons.

Russia’s ‘two-headed monster’ of top-10 talents Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev demolished Italian rivals Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini respectively to deliver Team Russia a comprehensive ATP Cup whitewash.

Both were undefeated in singles play this week, while Medvedev’s 14-match winning streak - which includes an incredible ten victories over top-10 opponents after sweeping the 2020 ATP Finals - has the 24-year-old poised to break his grand slam duck.

Andrey Rublev dominated his clash with Fabio Fognini. Picture: AFP

Daniil Medvedev destroyed World No.10 Matteo Berrettini. Picture: Getty Images

No Russian male has conquered the Australian Open since Marat Safin downed Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in 2005, but in Medvedev and Rublev – who could face off in the quarter-finals - the nation is firmly in position to end that drought.

“Hopefully I can show a great level like I did these last matches, then I will have my chance to win matches (at the Australian Open),” Medvedev said.

“That’s the most important. As you know, I always say this: I take it match by match. Every match is tough. You can get injured, you can lose, you can get a walkover. We never know.

“(The winning streak against top-10 players) is a really big achievement, I would say, because I didn’t lose a match.

“It’s a big boost in confidence. Even when you lose, you know that you’re capable of playing this level, and it helps you for the next time to stand up.”

The scenes weren’t as wild as 12 months ago, when Novak Djokovic delivered a historic win for Serbia in the competition’s inaugural final to spark a raucous response from the partisan crowd inside Ken Rosewall Arena – but the small crowd inside Rod Laver Arena were treated to a genuine spectacle.

Because the emphatic nature of Medvedev’s straight sets takedown of world No.10 Berrettini laid down a marker of what to expect at Melbourne Park in the next fortnight.

So severe was the thrashing that Italian captain Vincenzo Santopadre jokingly described the combined straight sets defeats - which ended the tie before the doubles - as ‘a disaster’.

A fantastic show of sportsmanship between the two nations. Picture: Getty Images

“Since the beginning of the competition we knew that Russia was a good team. I am not happy that we were part of today’s disaster,” Santopadre said.

Certainly Medvedev couldn’t have been more impressive against Berrettini, prevailing in just 80 minutes as he wiped out the Australian Open ninth seed.

“In these days, you just have to say ‘bravo’ to him and think about the next matches,” Berrettini said.

“For sure the next time I’m going to be more ready because I’m going to know him better. He’s playing really good. He’s confident, you can tell. He’s a really tough player to beat.”

Rublev had beaten Fognini just once in six attempts leading into this clash, but times have changed and this 23-year-old is also a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, leading English star Dan Evans signed off his preparations by defeating rising Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime to claim the Murray River Open.