MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Jannik Sinner stormed back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a gruelling five-set Australian Open final on Sunday, winning his first Grand Slam.

The Italian fourth seed was blown off course in the first two sets but recovered to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 44 minutes.

The result is a bitter blow for the Russian third seed, who has now lost a second Australian Open final after being two sets up, following his defeat by Rafael Nadal in 2022.

Medvedev came into the match boasting a 6-3 winning record against the 22-year-old, but had lost the past three matches. 

The Russian had played three gruelling five-setters at Melbourne Park and spent nearly six hours longer on the court than Sinner before the final.

But, looking fresh, he was quickly into his stride, unsettling the usually calm Sinner, who was unable to find any sort of rhythm.

The Italian, playing in his first Grand Slam final, was broken just twice in the entire tournament in the run-up to Sunday’s title decider but Medvedev doubled that tally in the first set.