Italy was on Sunday relishing the success of tennis player Jannick Sinner after his triumphant 3-2 victory over Daniil Medvedev in the men's singles final at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Plaudits poured in for the 22-year-old world no four from South Tyrol, whose win over his Russian opponent in five sets (3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3) after coming back from two sets down not only earned him the first Grand Slam title of his career, but also made him the first Italian to win a Grand Slam in 48 years.
The last Italian do achieve such a feat was Adriano Panatta at the Roland Garros tournament in Paris in 1976.
"Today Jannik Sinner has written a new page of history that makes us proud," said Premier Giorgia Meloni on social media.
"For the first time, Italy conquers the Australian slam. A memorable feat worthy of a true champion," she added.
"Great Sinner!!! Italy rallies round its champion. The first to win the Australian Open, 48 years after Italian tennis player Panatta won a grand slam tournament," wrote Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani on X, formerly Twitter.
"It is a memorable day for our sport. You are great, Jannik!," he added.
Sports Minister Andrea Abodi was also quick to reach out to the young player, saying he had "never seen such a great and human champion".
"Formidable! But a fundamental part of Sinner's wonderful victory at the Australian Open lies in this image: the feelings, the embrace, the gratitude, the team, the family, the values! "Together with talent and tenacity, the value of humility, politeness, kindness, simplicity and gratitude. And, even after this incredible success, of the desire to learn and improve.
"Never have I seen a champion so great and so simple, profound and human. Happy and proud that he is Italian," concluded Abodi.
Representatives of Italy's sporting community also weighed in on the victory, with Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malagó describing Sinner as "stratospheric".
"A stratospheric Sinner is the king of the Australian Open after a marathon of hope, suffering and emotion that turned into irrepressible joy," wrote Malagó on X. "An Italian returns to win a Slam almost 48 years after the last success signed by Panatta: it is history to be applauded, lived and projected into infinity to write new pages of glory. Congratulations, Jannik.
To you, to your staff, to the national tennis federation. You are an excellence that combines talent with application, awareness with humility. We are all Jannik Sinner. Proud of you," he concluded.
Sinner's fellow tennis players rushed to offer their congratulations, in particular Medvedev, wo said the victory was "deserved".
"First of all I want to congratulate Jannik: you have grown a lot, you have fought and you are winning a lot of tournaments.
You deserved it," said the Russian.
"I am sure it will not be your last slam final, but I will try to win the next challenge, seeing as I lost the last three (sets, ed.) against you," he added.
"I am so happy for you! You deserve more than one! Enjoy the moment, my friend,' said 20-year-old Spanish phenom and world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
Rafael Nadal posted a photo of the South Tyrolean with the Australian Open trophy accompanied by the words: "Great Jan, very good. Beautiful tournament, your first Grand Slam tournament!!! A warm greeting to you, your team, your family and all Italy who won today with you".
Serb great Novak Djokovic also congratulated Sinner on Instagram after Sunday's match, having lost to the Italian in the semi finals in four sets on Friday.
"Well done Jannik. Well deserved, congratulations to you and your family," he wrote.
For his part, Sinner acknowledged the "special victory", saying he had had "two fantastic weeks" at the Australian Open during which he "felt at home".
"It is a special victory, an incredible tournament, two fantastic weeks: I felt at home here," said Sinner, lifting the trophy at Melbourne Park.
"It's fantastic to play here, it's snowing at home, there I'm at -20, it's nicer to play in the heat," he added .
"I hope that all the children might be able to experience this dream and to have the freedom that my parents gave me. That's all, see you next year."
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