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World No.1 and defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner has picked up where he left off in 2024, with a win, beating Alexei Popyrin in a charity match.
Like a smiling assassin, Jannik Sinner has sent a subtle warning to his Australian Open challengers in his first appearance down under since snaring his maiden grand slam crown 12 months ago.
After starting out more saint than sinner, the world No.1 displayed his ruthless streak in a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) exhibition win over Alexei Popyrin on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
Playing up to the packed crowd, Sinner insisted it was all fun and games, until he found himself down a break midway through the second set.
With his Australian super-coach Darren Cahill watching on, the Italian had been more than charitable in the charity match playing the loosest of games to drop serve and fall behind 4-2.
The lapse all seemed part of the deal to give fans more bang for the 20 bucks they coughed up to watch the Open precursor.
"Today we are friends - we are not opponents - so we all agree to have some fun here and I hope you guys enjoyed it," Sinner said.
But he quickly put his game face on to break back and seal victory in a tiebreaker to start the new year where he left off during a dominant 2024 season.
In winning 73 of his 79 matches, Sinner added the US Open and ATP Finals crowns to his Melbourne Park breakthrough, plus three more Masters 1000 titles in a phenomenal eight-win calendar-year campaign.
"Yeah, 2024 was an amazing season for me, but it's already gone, so we are 2025," Sinner said.
"We started every year here in Melbourne, which is an amazing city.
"So many things happened for me on the court and off the court, very special ones, so I'm very happy to be back here playing these kind of matches.
"Even if it's kind of exhibition, for us it's always very important trying to feel the court, trying to feel the pace.
"Obviously having the crowd here it means so much to us, so thank you so much for coming and then we'll see what's coming down in the official tournament."
Fresh off his own breakout season, when he toppled Novak Djokovic in New York and became the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003 to win a Masters 1000 title when he triumphed in Montreal, Popyrin also enjoyed the hit-out.
The 25-year-old suffered a first-round loss last week in Brisbane to Matteo Arnaldi following a gruelling pre-season training block in Dubai but hopes to peak again during the Open.
"It's good preparation for the Aussie Open, trying to get into some match rhythm," Popyrin said.
"Last week wasn't too good for me, but I'm trying to get some more match practice under my belt and this is especially a great opportunity playing against the best player in the world."
