Jannik Sinner out to end 23-year curse as he looks to achieve feat that eluded Djokovic, Nadal, Federer

Newly crowned Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner will return to action at the Rotterdam Open and he will be looking to end the curse of the first-time Grand Slam champion.

Sinner won his maiden major as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final at Melbourne Park, but he will be out to avoid a fate that had befallen the 16 first-time Slam winners before him when he takes part in the ATP 500 event in the Netherlands from February 12-18.

Not since the 2001 season has a first-time major winner managed to win the ATP tournament immediately after their Grand Slam success with Lleyton Hewitt the last player to achieve the feat.

Australian Hewitt won his first Grand Slam at the 2001 US Open as he defeated Pete Sampras in straight sets and he followed it up with a title run at the Japan Open in Tokyo as he beat Michel Kratochvil in the final.

Hewitt also managed to pick up two Davis Cup singles wins over Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson from Sweden between his US Open title and his Tokyo trophy.

There have been 16 first-time Grand Slam champions – excluding Sinner – since then and none of them managed to win a title at their next ATP Tour event.

In fact, six of them lost their very next match – although not all of those were ATP Tour matches.

Carlos Alcaraz – 2022

Before Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz was the newest Grand Slam winner as he lifted his first major at Flushing Meadows just under two years ago.

His next represented Spain in the Davis Cup group stage clash against Canada, but he lost in three sets against Felix Auger-Aliassime. He also lost his first match on the ATP Tour as he was beaten in straight sets by David Goffin.

Juan Martin del Potro – 2009

The Tower of Tandil, Juan Martin del Potro, won his only Grand Slam at the 2009 US Open as he stunned Roger Federer in the final in New York.

Just over a month after his title run, he appeared at the Japan Open but went down in straight sets against Edouard Roger Vasselin.

Novak Djokovic – 2008

The great Novak Djokovic won the first of his 24 Grand Slams at the beginning of the 2008 season as he defeated Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

He then lost his next match at the Davis Cup qualifiers as he retired from his clash against Nikolay Davydenko with the Russian leading 4-6, 3-6, 6-4.

He did win his first match as a Grand Slam winner on the ATP Tour, beating Ivan Dodig in Marseille, but he then lost 6-2, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 against Gilles Simon.

Rafael Nadal – 2005

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal opened his Grand Slam account as a 19-year-old on the clay at Roland Garros in 2005 and just over two weeks later he switched to grass.

It wasn’t a happy change of surface as he lost his opening clash against unknown German Alexander Waske in three sets at the Halle Open.

Andy Roddick – 2003

American Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 US Open final to break his Grand Slam duck at his home major.

He was then brought back down to earth by Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty in the Davis Cup.

Roddick won his first match back on the ATP Tour as he defeated Max Mirnyi in the round of 32 at the Madrid Open before going down against Nicolas Massu.

Albert Costa – 2002

Spaniard Albert Costa won his one and only Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2002 as he beat compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in four sets.

But he followed it up with an early exit from Gstaad as he was beaten in the round of 32 by qualifier Paul Henri Mathieu.

The Remaining 10

Thomas Johansson, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Roger Federer, Gaston Gaudio, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev won their next match, but didn’t win the title.

Thomas Johansson – 2002

Swede Johanson won the 2002 Australian Open as he defeated Marat Safin in the final. He won his next match as he beat Greg Rusedski in the Davis Cup but the British player turned the tables as he defeated the Swede in the clash in Marseille only a few days later.

Juan Carlos Ferrero – 2003

Spaniard Ferrero won his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2003 and he won his next three matches as he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon before losing against Sebastien Grosjean.

Roger Federer – 2003

The first of Federer’s 20 Grand Slams came at Wimbledon in 2003 and he looked set to join the elite company of players who won a title immediately after winning the first major.

The Swiss reached the final in Gstaad before losing in five sets against Jiri Novak.

Gaston Gaudio 2002

After defeating fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria in five sets in the 2002 French Open final, Gaston Gaudio followed it up with a run to the final in Bastad, but he lost in three sets against Mariano Zabaleta.

Andy Murray – 2013

Andy Murray ended Great Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s singles winner at Wimbledon when he beat Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final. He won his next match at the Canadian Open before going down in straight sets against Ernests Gulbis.

Stan Wawrinka – 2014

Swiss legend Stan Wawrinka ended the Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray dominance in Grand Slams as he won 2014 Australian Open. He then won his next match at the Davis Cup and also won the matches at the Indian Wells Open before going down in three sets against Kevin Anderson.

Marin Cilic 2014

Marin Cilic won one of the few non-Big Four finals in 2014 as he defeated Kei Nishikori at the US Open. The Croatian followed it up with one Davis Cup victory and two in Beijing before his hopes were dashed by Andy Murray in the quarter-final of the China Open.

Dominic Thiem – 2020

Dominic Thiem came back from the dead at the 2020 US Open as he bounced back from two sets to love down to beat Alexander Zverev in the final. He made a good fist of things at his next event, the French Open which was rescheduled due to Covid-19, as he reached the quarter-final before going down in five sets against Diego Schwartzman.

Daniil Medvedev – 2021

Daniil Medvedev stunned Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2021 US Open final for his first Grand Slam title. His next event was the Indian Wells Open and he won his first two matches before losing in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov.