It has only been a few hours since Jannik Sinner created history at the Rod Laver Arena, and the tennis world is still coming to grasp it. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of the tournament by the 22-year-old, who will be playing his first Grand Slam final this Sunday. This is the first time Djokovic lost an Australian Open title after qualifying for the semi-finals.
If there was anyone with great potential to put a stop to Djokovic’s juggernaut run, it was Sinner (& Carlos Alcaraz to some extent). Djokovic, who is nearly invincible, gets even more threatening in big tournaments. And Sinner has now defeated the World No. 1 player three times in the past year. Those would be the ATP Finals Group Stages and the Davis Cup before this. There were many mind games played by Djokovic fans over Sinner, but ultimately nothing succeeded in distracting him from the win.
Sinner’s journey at this year’s Majors has seen him beat some heavyweights in tennis. After beating Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, Sinner faced 5th-seeded Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals. He won that match in straight sets of 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. It was then when he faced the giant of Serbia, where he was not considered the favorite to win. Whereas, barring a third-set tie-breaker drama which Sinner lost, he pretty much dominated the rest of the match. He also ended Djokovic’s 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.
Sinner has now qualified for a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career. He now has the opportunity to be part of an elite list of players who won a Grand Slam in their very first final appearance. While it takes many final attempts for so many players to win their first Grand Slams, here is a list of 36 players who did it in their debut attempt:
- Jan Kodes – 1970 French Open
- Jimmy Connors – 1974 Australian Open
- Bjorn Borg – 1974 French open
- Mark Edmondson – 1976 Australian Open
- Adriano Panatta – 1976 French Open
- Roscoe Tanner – 1977 Australian Open
- Vitas Gerulaitis – 1977 Australian Open (December)
- Brain Teacher – 1980 Australian Open
- Johan Kriek – 1981 Australian Open
- Mats Wilander – 1982 French Open
- Yannick Noah – 1983 French Open
- Stefan Edberg – 1985 Australian Open
- Boris Becker – 1985 Wimbledon
- Michael Chang – 1989 French Open
- Andres Gomez – 1990 French Open
- Pete Sampras – 1990 US Open
- Jim Courier – 1991 French Open
- Michael Stich – 1991 Wimbledon
- Sergi Bruguera – 1993 French Open
- Thomas Muster – 1995 French Open
- Yevgeny Kafelnikov – 1996 French Open
- Richard Krajicek – 1996 Wimbledon
- Gustavo Kuerten – 1997 French Open
- Patrick Rafter – 1997 US Open
- Marat Safin – 2000 US Open
- Lleyton Hewitt – 2001 US Open
- Thomas Johansson – 2002 Australian Open
- Albert Costa – 2002 French Open
- Andy Roddick – 2003 US Open
- Roger Federer – 2003 Wimbledon Open
- Gaston Gaudio – 2004 French Open
- Rafael Nadal – 2005 French Open
- Juan Martin Del Potro – 2009 US Open
- Stan Wawrinka – 2014 Australian Open
- Marin Cilic – 2014 US Open
- Carlos Alcaraz – 2022 US Open
Here’s looking at some of the finest achievements among them:
Roger Federer burst into the tennis circuit in style (2003 Wimbledon)
This was Wimbledon and the year was 2003 when players like Andy Roddick, and Tim Henman were active and Andre Agassi was still playing. Then entered a young player from beautiful Switzerland, who had never reached the finals of any Grand Slam event. Federer had made some waves in the tennis circuit, but none as consequential as his Wimbledon win in 2003.
He beat Sjeng Schalken in straight sets of 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals to meet the then in-form Andy Roddick. Roddick would go on to win the US Open that year in his first Grand Slam final appearance too. But here, his road was cut short by a 22-year-old Federer. The Swiss won the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-3 and advanced into the finals.
There he met Australian tennis player, now coach, Mark Philippoussis. Philippoussis was playing his 2nd Grand Slam final after his 1998 US Open loss to Patrick Rafter. This time around too, he lost to Federer 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). And thus a great was born, as Federer won his first of 20 Grand Slams in a decorated career.
Rafael Nadal made his ceremonious entry in his favorite Grand Slam (2005 French Open)
As everyone knows ‘Clay Court’ and ‘Rafael Nadal’ are a match made in heaven. The Spaniard has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams on the red soil of Roland Garros. It is only apt, when looked back, that his entry in the Grand Slam winners list started with the French Open. Back in 2005, when Nadal was 19 years old, he announced his arrival as the tournament winner in his very first Grand Slam final.
Nadal not only won the tournament on his first Finals appearance, but it was also his tournament debut at the French Open. He won the Roland Garros in his tournament debut and became the 2nd man ever after Mats Wilander in 1982 to do so. He beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 in the quarter-finals. Ferrer had reached there after knocking out defending champion Gaston Gaudio in the fourth round.
Nadal then beat Federer, someone with whom he would play many, many semi-finals and finals since, in the semi-final. The score was 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. In the finals, he beat Argentine Mariano Puerta, who was playing his first and only Grand Slam final to date. Nadal won the match by 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5.
Juan Martin Del Potro remains the last non-European to win a Grand Slam Final (2009 US Open)
It is very difficult to get past any European to win a Grand Slam title. The past decade and a half has been proof of that. But in 2009, Juan Del Potro was the only non-European in the Top 4 alongside the Big Three. It was Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2009 and no one among them won. It was also Del Potro’s first Grand Slam final, and to date, remains the only Grand Slam title he ever won.
The Argentinian tennis star started his quarter-final journey against Marin Cilic, who would later on win the 2014 US Open. Del Potro won the match by 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. He then commenced his journey against Rafael Nadal, where he thrashed the Spaniard. The score was 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, something that was not expected out of that semi-final at all. Del Potro’s win in the final denied Roger Federer his then 16th Grand Slam. With two tied sets in between, Del Potro won the tough match by 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
Stan Wawrinka became the 2nd Swiss person to win a Grand Slam Final in his first time there (2014 Australian Open)
Stan Wawrinka is a three-time Grand Slam winner and those are the only three times he ever reached a Grand Slam final. He never lost a final. But it was in the 2014 Australian Open, where his nerves must’ve been very high. Wawrinka was only the 2nd person from Switzerland after Roger Federer to reach the Grand Slam final, and he didn’t disappoint.
Nadal and Federer were both there in the semi-finals, and they faced each other. Nadal won the game in straight sets. Wawrinka, on the other hand, defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final by 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7. Once he beat one of the best, Wawrinka gained a confidence boost where Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic was no match for him. He lost the match to Wawrinka by 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (4-7).
In the final, Wawrinka beat favorite Nadal by 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to win his maiden Grand Slam.
Carlos Alcaraz became the 2nd Spaniard to win a Grand Slam on his debut (2022 US Open)
More than a decade had passed since Nadal’s debut, and no other Spanish player showed any spark like him. This was until Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old player, coached by another Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, reached the finals of the US Open 2022. Surprising everyone, Alcaraz won the whole thing in the second year of his Grand Slam debut.
Although Djokovic reigned during the time, 2022 especially belonged to Nadal. The Spaniard won the Australian Open and the French Open that year. But at the US Open, neither were present in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner by 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. He then beat Frances Tiafoe, the only African-American in the semi-finals, by 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3. In the finals, Casper Ruud provided some resistance to him but eventually lost the game in four sets. The score was 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
Can Sinner become the 37th name in this exhaustive list? If he does, he also become the 2nd Italian to do so after Adriano Panatta in the 1976 French Open.
