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Jannik Sinner reveals what he plans to do before attempting to defend his Australian Open title

Jannik Sinner reveals what he plans to do before attempting to defend his Australian Open title

Jannik Sinner is looking to win a third Grand Slam title in 2025, beginning the year as world number one.

The 2025 season on the ATP Tour is underway, with excitement building ahead of the Australian Open.

Sinner won the 2024 Australian Open, beating Daniil Medvedev in five sets, taking home the first Grand Slam title of his young career.

Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

The Italian soon doubled his Major tally as Sinner won the US Open in September against home favorite Taylor Fritz.

Sinner also won the ATP Finals, Davis Cup, and three Masters 1000 titles in a sensational year that saw him finish as world number one.

He’ll be looking to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time in his career later this month, and has now revealed what he is planning to do before the Australian Open gets underway.

Jannik Sinner set to play in two exhibition matches ahead of the 2025 Australian Open

Speaking in an interview ahead of the 2025 Australian Open, the world number one revealed his plans for the lead-up to the first Grand Slam of the year.

“I try take it day by day, we still have ten more days to prepare,” he said.

“I have a chance to play a couple of exhibition matches here, before we start, and hopefully this can give me the rhythm to play like last year at the Australian Open.

Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand during a practice session ahead of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 04, 2025 in Melbou...
Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images

“We’ll see, go day by day and hopefully my level can raise.”

Sinner is set to join several tennis stars in playing exhibition matches ahead of the tournament.

Date Player one Player two
January 7 (Tuesday) Jannik Sinner Alexei Popyrin
January 8 (Wednesday) Qinwen Zheng Elina Svitolina
January 8 (Wednesday) Carlos Alcaraz Alex de Minaur
January 10 (Friday) Carlos Alcaraz Alexei Popyrin
January 10 (Friday) Jannik Sinner Stefanos Tsitsipas
Exhibition matches ahead of the 2025 Australian Open (Players subject to change)

Sinner will play Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin and Stefanos Tsitsipas in preparation for the tournament which begins in just eight days’ time.

The Italian star also explained what he thinks will make defending his Australian Open crown difficult.

“Every Grand Slam or every tournament is different,” said Sinner.

“Especially at the beginning of the season, all the players have worked on certain areas of our game where we wanted to improve.

Jannik Sinner of Italy speaks during a press conference at the end of his round robin singles match against Alex de Minaur of Australia during day ...
Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images

“We’re going to see, especially in the early stages of tournaments, everyone is more fresh than at the end of the season, and it’s going to be very difficult.”

The world number one finished up by saying that he was fairly happy with his pre-tournament preparations.

“Considering everything, we tried to do the best we could, in our off season and hopefully I can play some good tennis this year, but obviously it’s going to be very difficult,” said Sinner.

Is Jannik Sinner the favorite for the Australian Open?

It may seem like a silly question, considering Sinner’s dominance on hard courts over the past 12 months, and his form during the latter stages of the 2024 season.

However, there are plenty of top names on the ATP Tour heading into 2025, that Sinner won’t be underestimating as tennis heads to Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic

As a ten-time Australian Open champion it feels almost disrespectful to not consider Novak Djokovic as a favorite for the tournament.

Sinner did beat him on Rod Laver Arena 12 months ago, however, and once more on the hard-courts in Shanghai last October.

His pedigree at the tournament shouldn’t be understated though, and an 11th title for Djokovic later this month wouldn’t come as a surprise to most tennis fans.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz needs to win in Melbourne to complete the Career Grand Slam, having won in Paris, London, and New York over the past few years.

At his best, he can beat anyone on the ATP Tour, but hard courts have caused problems for Alcaraz at times over the past 12 months.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain salutes the fans following his defeat against Botic van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands in their Men's Singles Second Roun...
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Alcaraz did beat Sinner in Beijing at the end of 2024, however, something that the Spaniard will be holding on to should the pair face off once more in the coming weeks.

Alexander Zverev

The age old question of whether Alexander Zverev will finally win a Grand Slam title could finally be answered in 2025.

Zverev reached a second Slam final last year, and returned to his career-high ranking of number two in the world.

Germany's Alexander Zverev hits a return against China's Zhang Zhizhen during their men's singles match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Pert...
Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images

A two-time semi-finalist down under, maybe now is the time for the German to get the job done and win a maiden Major title.

Daniil Medvedev

The Russian star came just a set away from the title last year, something he is now all too familiar with in Melbourne.

Medvedev has now lost three Australian Open finals, with his defeat to Rafael Nadal back in 2022, perhaps the most devastating, as he came so close to victory.

Despite falling at the final hurdle on numerous occasions, Medvedev’s pedigree on Rod Laver Arena is largely unmatched, as he heads into the 2025 event as one of just two active players to have reached multiple finals at the tournament.

Maybe it will be fourth time lucky for the 28-year-old, as he looks to pick up a second Grand Slam title.

Only time will tell who will pick up the Australian Open title, with the tournament getting underway on January 12.

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