The Australian Open men’s singles final, the first major tennis tournament of the season to be held on the 28th, will be missing a familiar image from 2006. The so-called ‘Penazzo’, the ‘big 3’, cannot be seen rocking their rackets. The 2024 final was summed up in a match between Jannik Sinner (23, Italy, 4th in the world) and Daniil Medvedev (28, Russia, 3rd).
The main character of the triad tennis system. Roger Federer (from left), Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic. /Chosun Ilbo DB
Since Marat Safin (44, Russia) and Lleyton Hewitt (43, Australia) faced each other on the final court of the Australian Open men’s singles in 2005, at least one ‘Penazzo’ has maintained his position every year from 2006 to last year. There were many instances where Penazzo clashed.
‘Penazo’ is a coined term that refers to Roger Federer (43, Switzerland, retired), Rafael Nadal (38, Spain), and Novak Djokovic (37, Serbia), who have dominated the world of men’s tennis for the last 20 years. They are an unsalable trio who have formed the ‘triumphant system’ of tennis and have won a total of 66 championships (Federer 20 + Nadal 22 + Djokovic 24) in the four major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open).
However, time is no longer on their side. Federer retired in 2022, and Nadal is likely to retire after this year. He repeated the injury before the opening of this year’s Australian Open and was unable to participate. He is expected to return to a major tournament at the French Open in May. World No. 1 Djokovic beat Sinner 1-3 in the semi-finals of this tournament.
Jannick Sinner. /AFP Yonhap News
Sinner and Medvedev filled their seats, which had been reserved for the Australian Open until now. Sinner advanced to the final of a major tournament for the first time in his career and is looking forward to winning. Medvedev is determined to alleviate the sadness of finishing second behind Djokovic and Nadal in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He is also dreaming of a second major title after the 2021 US Open.
Sinner (188 cm, 76 kg) and Medvedev (198 cm, 83 kg) are right-handed with relatively slim bodies. They are similar in that they play aggressive tennis with a high serve that stems from their tall height and agile body movements.
Daniel Medvedev. /AP Yonhap News
Sinner showed tremendous momentum, winning all five matches of this tournament without conceding a set before losing a set to Djokovic in the semi-finals. On the other hand, Medvedev showed amazing concentration by showing an amazing comeback twice (semi-final and second round) in this tournament, winning the 3rd, 4th, and 5th sets even after losing the 1st and 2nd sets.
In historical records, Medvedev has a slight advantage with 6 wins and 3 losses. However, in the last three games, Sinner has won all three games, so even Medvedev cannot relax.
In the finals, held at 5:30 PM Korean time on this day, a champion other than one of the Penazos will emerge for the first time in 10 years. Since Stan Wawrinka (39, Switzerland) defeated Nadal in 2014 to lift the trophy, Penazzo has had the last laugh every year.
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