Jannik Sinner lifted the Rotterdam Open title right after winning the 2024 Australian Open, his first Grand Slam. This is a feat that even Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal did not achieve. The Big 3, and more illustrious players, did not triumph in the first tournament they participated in after their maiden Grand Slam victory.
Sinner has elevated his game to elite levels over the last few months. He began his 2024 season with the Australian Open, going on to lift the trophy for his first Majors title. He beat three top 5 players, Andrey Rublev, Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev, in the last three matches of the tournament.
After Melbourne, Jannik Sinner featured in the Rotterdam Open. He played incredible tennis in the ATP 500 event, dropping only one set. He beat Alex de Minaur in the final to clinch the title, the 12th of this career. Apart from a new career-high rank of World No.3, this victory also meant he eclipsed the Big 3 and every other Grand Slam champion since 2001 by achieving a rare record.
Sinner won the first tournament he participated in after securing the maiden Grand Slam title of his career. The last person to achieve this feat was Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. The Aussie won the Japan Open right after bagging his first Majors trophy at the US Open.
Jannik Sinner becomes the first man to win his first tournament as a Grand Slam Champion since 2001.
The last man to do it was Lleyton Hewitt.
The invincible fox.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 18, 2024
Roger Federer and Gaston Gaudio came closest, finishing runner-up in the next event after their first Grand Slam titles. The list of Majors champions since 2001 includes stars like Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and more. Each one of them has failed to do well in the next tournament after winning their first Grand Slam trophy.
Sinner broke the streak by winning the 2024 Rotterdam Open, outdoing these legendary names. This bodes very well for the Italian, who is tipped to match, if not surpass, these icons and establish a solid legacy.
