Rafael Nadal made history in stunning fashion as he came from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the men's Australian Open final, sealing a record 21st grand slam title.
All the talk before the tournament had been about Novak Djokovic and whether the world number one would be able to compete to achieve the same feat, but it was Nadal who secured the historic victory at Rod Laver Arena, beating Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 in a marathon five hours and 24 minutes.
It is only the second Australian Open title of Nadal's decorated career but puts him out ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer (both 20) as the man to have won the most grand slams of all time.
He had looked down and out at times in the third set but showed typical determination to get better as the match went on, while Medvedev appeared to visibly tire as he saw his lead disappear into the night sky in Melbourne.
The first set began with Medvedev asking questions of Nadal, although initially the 35-year-old had answers with some classic forehand winners.
However, the unforced errors from the Spaniard began to pile up and he was broken to love in the fifth game. From there, Medvedev dominated the remainder of the opening set, breaking again and taking it 6-2.
It did not bode well for Nadal, who had won only three of his 10 prior major finals in which the opener had gone to his opponent.
The number six seed was struggling on his first serve, getting just 54 per cent in – his next lowest in a first set in this tournament had been 66 per cent in the second round win against Yannick Hanfmann.
Nadal showed some resilience, though, and hit a sensational winner at the end of a 40-shot rally in the fourth game of the second set, in which he ultimately broke Medvedev for the first time, only to be broken back to 4-3 as those serving struggles continued.
A back-and-forth affair saw four breaks of serve and the set ended with a tie-break, which Medvedev clinched with a backhand winner down the line to leave Nadal looking down the barrel of a defeat.
However, Nadal was not going to go down without a fight and showed some of his trademark grit in the third to stay with Medvedev, who was, if anything, playing even better than in the first two sets. Nadal had to save break points in the sixth game to eventually hold serve, before breaking in the ninth and serving out to somehow get back to within a set.
The drama did not stop in the fourth as two holds of serve were followed by three straight breaks to put Nadal 3-2 ahead. Both men were forced to save multiple break points thereafter, but Nadal successfully held serve to take it 6-4 and force a decider.
Medvedev looked to be wilting and was hanging on at the start of the fifth, before some superb Nadal winners earned a break in the fifth game.
The Russian made his opponent work hard for his victory and dramatically broke back to level when Nadal was serving for the championship, only for the veteran to break straight back before finally sealing the win and his place in the history books with a backhand volley that Medvedev could not return.
DATA SLAM: No Melbourne misery for Nadal
Nadal also becomes the second man in the Open Era – and only fourth in history – to win each grand slam at least twice, after Djokovic, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver.
Despite still boasting an impressive overall record in grand slam finals at 20-8 going into this match, Nadal was 1-4 in Australian Open finals. He looked sure to make that 1-5 after the first two sets but showed remarkable fortitude to turn things around.
This was Medvedev's second Australian Open final defeat having lost to Djokovic last year, and his second grand slam final defeat to Nadal after losing to him at the 2019 US Open.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 69/68
Medvedev – 76/52
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 3/5
Medvedev – 23/5
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 7/22
Medvedev – 6/22
Sinner hopes to see 'legend' Djokovic on the big stages for years to come
Jannik Sinner hopes to see Novak Djokovic fit and firing at the biggest tournaments for years to come.
Djokovic proved no match for Sinner as the world number one prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters.
Sinner's dominant display denied Djokovic what would have been his 100th ATP Tour-level title, albeit that trophy is bound to come sooner rather than later for the 37-year-old.
With Rafael Nadal having confirmed his retirement earlier this week, Djokovic is the final member of "the big four" remaining, following Andy Murray's retirement earlier this year.
And 23-year-old Sinner, who is now even at 4-4 in his head-to-head record with Djokovic, hopes to see the Serbian remain at the top of the game.
"It's so nice to see you still playing incredible tennis, you keep showing it year after year," Sinner told Djokovic during the trophy presentation.
"You are doing an incredible job, I wish you all the best, not only for this season but for staying healthy next season and hopefully seeing you as long as possible here on big stages."
Speaking to Sky Sports, Sinner said: "It was a very tough match, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges.
"He was serving great the first set, I couldn't find a way to break him, and then I played a very good tie-breaker which gave me confidence for the second set.
"Very happy with my performance through this whole tournament – a very special moment.
"[Djokovic [doesn't] have any weaknesses. You have to use the very small number of chances he gives you but there are not many through a whole match.
"You try to believe in every moment. He's a legend of our sport, he's very tough to play against so I'm very happy."
Sinner is the first player to claim three consecutive wins head-to-head against Djokovic since Nadal in 2013.
The Italian is only the fifth player aged 23 or under in the Open Era to win 6+ hard-court ATP titles in a calendar year after Jimmy Connors (1973), Ivan Lendl (1981), Pete Sampras (1994) and Roger Federer (2004).
Federer and Carlos Alcaraz were present in the stands during Sunday's showdown, and Djokovic quipped that only added to the pressure.
"It's really nice to see Roger, I'm not used to seeing you in the stands, I wish you were on the court playing with us," he said.
"It's probably the first time I played in front of you, so I had an added pressure, but thank you for being here. And Carlos as well."
Speaking to Sinner, Djokovic said: "Congratulations to Jannik, you were just too good today and you're having an incredible year – you deserve this.
"Congratulations to his team, as well, for a great week – well done, I'm really glad you guys are doing well, you deserve this."
Djokovic made to wait for 100th title as Sinner reigns supreme in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic's wait for his 100th ATP Tour title rolled on as Jannik Sinner cemented his place at the top of the world by claiming the Shanghai Masters title.
With Carlos Alcaraz and Roger Federer watching on from the stands, world number one Sinner turned in a sensational show of force to dispatch Djokovic 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Sunday.
Sinner needed just one hour and 39 minutes to wrap up his third ATP 1000 title of a remarkable season in which he has now won 65 matches.
The Italian did have to get the better of Djokovic in a tie-break to win the opener, but broke the Serbian great on three occasions to settle it in his favour.
Sinner kept up that momentum in the second set, though, with some slack shots from Djokovic enabling the 23-year-old to claim the crucial break in game four.
And with Djokovic unable to handle Sinner's powerful serve, the latter sealed the championship at the first time of asking, adding a seventh title to his haul for 2024.
Data Debrief: Sinner's statement of intent
Since 2015, Sinner – who has only lost six times this year – is just the fourth player to win at least seven Tour-level titles in a single season, after Djokovic (2023, 2016 and 2015), Federer (2017) and Andy Murray (2016).
At the age of 23 years and 58 days, Sinner has become the youngest player to win the Shanghai Masters and the youngest to clinch at least three ATP 1000 titles in a calendar year since Rafael Nadal (22 years and 334 days) in 2009.
Sinner is only the fifth player aged 23 or under in the Open Era to win six ATP titles on hard court in a single year after Jimmy Connors (1973), Ivan Lendl (1981), Pete Sampras (1994) and Roger Federer (2004).
He is also the first player to claim victory at consecutive ATP 1000 tournaments since Djokovic in 2020.
Sinner now holds a record of 28-3 at ATP 1000 events in 2024. Since the format's inception in 1990, only four players have achieved more match wins in a season - Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic.
Sinner revels in 'special feeling' after confirming year-end number one ranking
Jannik Sinner says it is a "special feeling" to confirm the year-end number one spot following his Shanghai Masters semi-final win.
Sinner is the first Italian to end a calendar year as number one, having clinched the top ranking with a 6-4 7-5 win over Tomas Machac.
He will face Novak Djokovic in his maiden Shanghai final, and his fourth consecutive showpiece, though he lost the most recent in Beijing to Carlos Alcaraz last week.
Sinner (2023-24) has become only the third player in the Open Era to reach seven or more ATP event finals on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2004-07 and 2014-2015) and Novak Djokovic (2011-13 and 2015-2016).
Sinner, who has 64 wins under his belt this season, is the 18th player to end the year as the top-ranked player and said he has fulfilled a childhood dream in doing so.
"It's amazing. It's something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the number one," Sinner told Sky Sports.
"Now having the year-end, it's also a different and special feeling.
"It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around — the family and friends and also a big credit to my team."
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