For two decades, the man raising the trophy at the end of the Australian Open has nearly always been tennis royalty. This year’s champion will be an exception to that rule. 

Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will face off for the first grand slam title of 2024 after quite different but equally stunning semifinal victories. 

Sinner shocked top seed and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in relatively easy fashion to reach his first major final. Medvedev followed that upset on Rod Laver Arena by delivering an epic comeback after dropping the first two sets to Alexander Zverev, eventually prevailing 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3. 

For Medvedev, the match was nearly the mirror image of his defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final, when he blew a two-set lead and watched the Spaniard rally to claim the title. That was the Russian’s second consecutive defeat in the final, as he fell in straight sets to Djokovic in 2021. 

Seeing those familiar names on top at the end has been a long-running pattern at Melbourne Park. Djokovic, Nadal or Roger Federer has won 18 of the last 20 Australian Open titles, with Stan Wawrinka (2014) and Marat Safin (2005) the only outliers. 

That will change in 2024, with Medvedev adding a second grand slam title to go with his 2021 US Open triumph or the 22-year-old Italian Sinner hoisting the silverware in only his second time advancing past the quarterfinals at a major. 

Here’s all you need to know to watch the pair face off in the 2024 Australian Open men’s singles final.

This men’s championship match takes place on Sunday, January 27. It’s a prime-time event in Melbourne but will begin overnight in the U.S.

Here’s the start time for Sinner vs. Medvedev:

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Both Fubo and ESPN+ are streaming the match live, and US fans can also tune into ESPN to watch on TV, with encore presentations also airing on ESPN2 and Tennis Channel. 

While it’s fair to say hardly anyone expected Sinner to do what he did to Djokovic, the young Italian has been in fine form in Melbourne. Djokovic’s tiebreak win in the third set of the semifinal is the only set Sinner has dropped at the tournament out of 19 played. 

Medvedev, on the other hand, has played two consecutive five-setters and three overall, and escaped with only one straight-sets win, in the third round against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. While on the one hand that’s a testament to the veteran’s resilience, it also indicates Sinner should have more life in his legs Sunday. 

Sinner also has the hot hand in the head-to-head rivalry. After Medvedev won the first six meetings between the pair, Sinner has prevailed in the last three.

Djokovic won his first grand slam title in Melbourne in 2008, and the man who vanquished him this year looks like a good bet to be the next breakthrough major champion to start 2024. 

Prediction: Sinner to win in four sets