The 22-year-old Italian handed Novak Djokovic his first loss at Melbourne Park for six years in the semi-finals but looked like he would have to settle for the runners-up plate as Medvedev dominated the first half of the match.
Yet Sinner found a way to fight back as he secured a thrilling 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory to become the first Italian to lift the title at the Australian Open.
The win in Melbourne will not have an immediate impact on Sinner’s world ranking, as he will stay at No 4 when the updated list is released on Monday.Yet he is now just 1,545 points behind world No 1 Novak Djokovic, as he looks to make 2024 his year.
Sinner broke into the top ten of the ATP rankings last year and then established himself as a solid member of the top four players in the men’s game after a thrilling finish to the season.
Taking the next step was always going to be a tough task as players like Medvedev, Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were ahead of him in the rankings.
Yet after beating Djokovic and Medvedev in Melbourne, Sinner now appears to be the form player in men’s tennis and if he continues his dominant form into the ATP 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami, he may well be knocking on the door of the world No 1 ranking for the first time.
Sinner has plenty of points to defend from 2023 over