In the men's singles final of the Australian Open, the trophy will be taken over by a newcomer. World No. 3 Mei and world No. 4 Sinner face off at Centre Court Laver for their first Grand Slam title of the 2024 season.
Sinner was almost unassailable in his first Grand Slam match. The 22-year-old Italian had never dropped a set before facing 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, but he still gave Djokovic his first Australian Open defeat since 2018 in four sets.
In contrast, Mr. Mei has been on the verge of failure twice in two weeks. He trailed Rusuvori in the second round and two sets behind Zverev in the quarterfinals, but won both times marathon. The third seed is rewarded with a sixth Grand Slam final and his third in Melbourne, and he is looking to add a second Grand Slam title to his 2021 US Open victory.
Sinner played just 19 full sets of the tournament, while May played 25 sets and ended Djokovic's 33-game winning streak at the Australian Open, and Sinner will step on the court full of confidence on Sunday. Because the 22-year-old gave him convincing performances, especially his victory against the world number one in the last four.
"Obviously, beating Novak in Melbourne means a lot to me, but on the other hand, I know it's not over yet," fourth seed Sinner said after winning in the quarterfinals. "It's a different mood because the final is always different. ”
"It doesn't matter how big the game is. Today I knew in my heart that it was the Final Four. It's not that you just won the game. I'm looking forward to Sunday and let's see what happens next. ”
Mei raised the bar to the game with victories over Rusuvori and Zverev as a reminder of how the 26-year-old's relentless baseline skills can help him capitalize on any level drop in his opponents. Even if Sinner gets off to a quick start in Sunday's final, it is unlikely that he will lose faith that he can win.
"Mentally 100 per cent, I'm stronger than before this tournament because now I know I'm capable of doing things that I didn't think I could do," said after beating Zverev, "because I haven't done anything like this before to get to the final, so mentally I'm stronger than before, and I'm happy about that." ”
"Honestly, it's better to win three sets, four sets in the final. It's a better way to do it physically. But that's the way it is, I'm proud and looking forward to playing my 100th best again in the final. ”
Sinner broke two lengthy matchups in a rich form at the end of 2023. In addition to his first two victories against Djokovic in the ATP year-end finals and the Tyves Cup final, the Italian has also recovered from his first six ATP losses.
In October last year, the Italian defeated Mei in two consecutive ATP 500 finals in Beijing and Vienna, and then defeated Mei for the third time in a row in the quarterfinals of the ATP year-end finals. A notable feature of Sinner in those victories was the improvement of his serve and his style of netting more to counter May's late serve.
Those skills could be key again for the fourth seed on Sunday, and Sinner will be hoping to at least equal his 31 wins against Djokovic as he tries to break down May's famously defensive.
Speaking about his clash with Sinner at the end of 2023, Mei said: "He tackled a little bit more on his serve, maybe more aggressively, but at the same time, that's what he does against everybody. He just played better. ”
"All three games have been tough. Two tie-breaks and two three-set matches. I have a chance. All of this was at the end of the season and I didn't feel like I was 100 per cent yet, even though I was playing pretty well. I could be 97 percent, 96 percent, and against him, you need to be 100 percent. ”
In Melbourne, Sinner has so far proven his theory that his game has reached new heights in recent months. The Italian won the most important title of his career so far at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto last August, but despite this, he is determined not to get carried away on his way to becoming a major champion for the first time.
"I think after last year, especially at the end of the year, it gave me confidence that I could have some good results in the Grand Slams," Sinner said, "but you still have to show it." Some people will say a lot but you have to show it because in the end you have to play and you have to play. ”
"If it's not this year, it's next year, if it's not next year, it's next year again. To be honest, I was really relaxed. I just work as hard as I can, and in my opinion, I feel like hard work will always pay off in some way. We are working hard for our dreams. ”