Jannik Sinner clinched his first grand slam title in dramatic fashion by coming from two sets to love down to beat Daniil Medvedev.
The 22-year-old Italian followed up his victory over Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals by quelling a fast start by Medvedev to win 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
He is the youngest Australian Open champion since Djokovic in 2008 and the first Italian man to win a major singles trophy since Adriano Panatta at the French Open in 1976.
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While Sinner and Medvedev battled it out on Rod Laver, Katie Boulter was among those preparing for the WTA tournament in Linz, which starts on Monday.
Roll of honour
Women’s singles: Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
Men’s singles: Jannik Sinner (Italy)
Women’s doubles: Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) and Elise Mertens (Belgium)
Men’s doubles: Rohan Bopanna (India) and Matt Ebden (Australia)
Mixed doubles: Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) and Jan Zielinski (Poland)
Girls’ singles: Renata Jamrichova (Slovakia)
Boys’ singles: Rei Sakamoto (Japan)
Girls’ doubles: Tyra Grant and Iva Jovic (USA)
Boys’ doubles: Maxwell Exsted and Cooper Woestendick (USA)
Men’s wheelchair singles: Tokito Oda (Japan)
Women’s wheelchair singles: Diede De Groot (Netherlands)
Men’s wheelchair doubles: Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid (Great Britain)
Women’s wheelchair doubles: Diede De Groot and Jiske Griffioen (Netherlands)
Quad wheelchair singles: Sam Schroder (Netherlands)
Quad wheelchair doubles: Andy Lapthorne (Great Britain) and David Wagner (USA)
Paul sees off Hurkacz in seesaw quarter-final
Tommy Paul reached the semi-final of the Italian Open after pulling through a rollercoaster clash with Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday.
The number 14 seed downed Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final, keeping his composure during his two hours and 43 minutes on the court.
After winning the first set, Hurkacz fought back to win the second, but the American was not out of the contest yet as he clawed back from 0-2 down early in the third.
He closed out the win in a dramatic fashion, fending off six break points while letting three of his own slip, to eventually set up a semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Nicolas Jerry on Friday.
Data Debrief: Into the final four
After beating Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Paul has now won back-to-back matches against top-10 opponents for the first time in his professional career with his victory over Hurkacz.
Paul earned his 150th tour-level win to take him through to his third Masters 1000 semi-final, as he aims to become the first American finalist in Rome since Andre Agassi in 2002.
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka is through to her second Italian Open semi-final after a straight-sets victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.
The Belarusian, who recovered from a lower back injury sustained in her previous match against Elina Svitolina, breezed through 6-2, 6-4 after just 72 minutes on the court.
Sabalenka broke her serve in the third and fifth games, with Ostapenko opening the door with two double faults, while a single break in the seventh game settled the second set.
The second seed almost let it slip with her only double fault but came back with two big serves to close out the win.
Sabalenka will face Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final on Friday.
Data Debrief: Top 10
Sabalenka (10) has become only the second player to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals since the start of the 2020 season, along with Iga Swiatek (16).
With Sabalenka joining Swiatek and Coco Gauff, it is the first time the WTA’s top three players have reached the semi-final at the same WTA event since Roland Garros in 2013 – excluding the WTA Tour Finals.
Sabalenka has spent the most time out on the court in WTA clay events in 2024, with this match bringing her up to 25 hours and 34 minutes.
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