When he arrived in Melbourne last year, he was a shy boy who believed he would make his first big breakthrough. It was at the 2024 Australian Open that the red-haired youngster became a Grand Slam champion for the first time.
Since then, one year has passed and Sinner has gained an unbeatable aura - at least on hard courts. The top players are looking for ways to beat him in vain. In the final, he didn't allow Alexander Zverev a single break point.
Sinner's path to the trophy was certainly quite straightforward, as his biggest rivals were eliminated in the other half of the draw.
Carlos Alcaraz fell to a determined Novak Djokovic before the Serbian champion then retired from his match with Zverev in the semi-finals. And the current world number two, Zverev, still seems mentally weaker than Sinner's two main rivals.
"I think I serve better than Jannik, but he can do everything else better. He deserved to win, he is the best player on hard courts at the moment," admitted a devastated Zverev.
Key moments:
Jannik Sinner vs Nicolas Jarry 7-6, 7-6, 6-1
In the first round, he was straight up against an opponent who had the crowd's sympathy. Jarry had also gone through a similar doping story, but unlike Sinner, he had to serve his time.
The Chilean player's determination was great, produced breakpoints, and took the two opening sets to tiebreaks, but in the end, he was not able to keep up with the accurate Sinner.
"It's not my fault how they treated him," the Italian defended himself against questions about the anti-doping agency's different approach.
Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
The last-16 battle was certainly not a clear-cut one. The Dane played great tennis, especially in the second and third sets. After he won the second one, he attacked Sinner's serve in the third too.
But the exhausted Italian fended off three break points at 1-1 and another at 2-2. That proved to be the key moment. It was in this match that probably the best rally of the whole tournament took place.
Jannik Sinner vs Ben Shelton 7-6, 6-2, 6-2
The American youngster played very confidently at the beginning of the semi-final and took Sinner's serve in the first game. Thanks to his energy, he got out two set points at the end of the first set. But they proved to be the turning point.
The Italian chose to play patiently from the baseline and Shelton made two unforced errors. The ensuing tiebreak then determined the match's future, with Shelton losing faith.
Important numbers:
3
Until the start of this year's Australian Open, only four players in the history of the open era of tennis had managed to win three grand slams on hard surfaces in a row. Jannik Sinner is now fifth in those standings, ranking alongside legends such as John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Serb has even done it twice.
62.26 %
That's Sinner's success rate on his second serve. Considering that his second serve speed is very average (155 km/h), this is an exceptional number. Sinner leads this statistic, winning 160 out of 257 points. He was followed by Novak Djokovic (60.5%), Flavio Cobolli (59.5%) and big servers Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (57.8%), Ben Shelton (57.8%) and Hubert Hurkacz (57.7%).
10
Jannik Sinner is the first tennis player in history to win ten consecutive matches against opponents in the top 10 of the world rankings since its inception in 1973. If ever there was talk of absolute domination by one player, the Italian has now sent a clear message. Everyone else is miles away at the moment.
Yet a shadow of doubt will inevitably remain over Sinner's Australian triumph and the last few sensational months when he has leapfrogged the rest of the world. His two positive doping tests were essentially swept under the carpet. But it's almost admirable how the Italian is coping with the mentally challenging period.
"I play this well because I have a clear mind. I know what happened. If I knew I was guilty, I wouldn't play this relaxed. That's it," he said after his triumph.
He also sent a message to his coach Darren Cahill in the stands in Melbourne. Indeed, it is likely that the Australian will end his association with Sinner at the end of the season.
"I know how Darren feels. It was his last Australian Open as my coach. But maybe... Well, I'll try to convince him."
Thanks to the advice of the former tennis player, the scruffy red-haired boy from Tyrol has become a tennis monster.