Jannik Sinner’s 2024 was extraordinary.
The Italian scooped eight ATP Tour-level titles, including his first two major triumphs and the ATP Finals, ending the season as year-end world No.1. On top of that, he spearheaded the successful defence of his nation’s Davis Cup crown.
No Italian had topped the ATP rankings prior to Sinner. Since changes were made to the distribution of ranking points in 2009, only two players have ever sewn up top spot for the calendar year earlier than the 23-year-old was able to – Novak Djokovic in 2015 (September 14) and Rafael Nadal in 2010 (September 20).
And the tournament that started it all? The Australian Open.
Jannik’s year
Sinner returns to Melbourne Park 12 months on from winning his maiden Grand Slam title.
It was at Rod Laver Arena last year that the Italian beat Daniil Medvedev in a classic final, coming from two sets down to prevail 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in a match for the ages.
At the age of 22 years and 165 days, Sinner became the second-youngest player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam final from two sets down, after only Bjorn Borg, who won the 1974 French Open when he had just turned 18.
Sinner did it the hard way through the entire tournament. He had to overcome Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals just to set up a semifinal tussle with 10-time AO champion Djokovic, who was ranked world No.1 at the time.
Win percentage as ATP world No.1 (since 1973)
| Jannik Sinner | 92% |
| Bjorn Borg | 80% |
| Ivan Lendl | 80% |
| Roger Federer | 77% |
| Jimmy Connors | 72% |
By beating the Serbian 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3, Sinner became the first Italian to defeat the ATP top-ranked player at a major. He also became the first player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam match without facing at least one break point.
Sinner was the youngest player to achieve successive wins over ATP top-five opponents in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final of a Grand Slam, surpassing Michael Stich (22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon 1991). Last year’s AO success made him only the third Italian man to win a major, after French Open champions Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta.
That magnificent Melbourne campaign sparked Sinner’s supreme season. He went on to become just the second player in the Open Era to finish a calendar year with at least one set won in each of his matches, after Roger Federer in 2005.
Sinner reached at least the last eight in all four majors in 2024, becoming the third-youngest man – after Pete Sampras (1993) and Nadal (2008) to make it to the quarterfinals or further in all four majors in one season. He won 23 major matches across 2024, at least four more than any other male player.
Hard-court maestro
Sinner’s all-round game makes him a force to be reckoned with, but on hard courts he proved close to unstoppable last season.
Indeed, seven of his titles came on the surface, including at AO and the US Open. He is just the fifth player to win at least seven hard-court finals in one season.
Players to win at least seven hard-court finals in one season
| Andre Agassi | 1995 |
| Pete Sampras | 1996 |
| Roger Federer | 2004, 2006 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2015 |
| Jannik Sinner | 2024 |
Should Sinner win his opening-round match at AO 2025, it will bring up a 15th major match win on the surface. Only three players since the turn of the century have achieved such a feat – Agassi, Federer and Djokovic.
Sinner has lost just two of his last 59 hard-court, Tour-level matches after winning the first set, with both of those defeats coming to Carlos Alcaraz.
What’s on the line at AO 2025?
If Sinner wins his first-round match, it will mark his 16th victory out of 20 AO singles matches. In the 21st century, only Yevgeny Kafelnikov (17) has claimed more wins from the first 20 matches at the event.
Among the seeded players, only Djokovic (91.3 per cent) has a better AO winning percentage than Sinner (78.9 per cent).
Djokovic (88.1 per cent) and Alcaraz (84.5 per cent), meanwhile, are the only active males with a higher winning percentage than Sinner (77.2 per cent) across all Grand Slams.
Should Sinner retain his title at AO 2025, then prepare for another stellar year.