A hint from Melbourne about Jannik Sinner's appearance at the Australian Open

(PRIMASPORT) MELBOURNE – Jannik Sinner's unconditional confidence in his full recovery and the inflammation affecting his right knee is evident in the press release issued by the Australian Open organizing committee, which states that the current ATP ranking number 1 has been entered into the "Million-Dollar AO 1 Point Slam." This is the tournament preceding the Australian Grand Slam, in which top tennis professionals compete against amateurs and wildcard entrants at Rod Laver Arena for a million-dollar prize. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13th and features an atypical format (only one point is played). Qualifying tournaments are already underway in Australian tennis clubs to determine who will qualify for the knockout draw, which includes Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Jannike Sinner. For the record, last year he was eliminated by an Australian amateur, Jordan Smith, who then unexpectedly won the tournament and the million-dollar prize. Sinner, who went on to play the Australian Open as the defending champion, faced him in the round of 16, missing his serve and handing the round to his unknown opponent. This is, of course, an initiative promoted to engage as many fans as possible in the run-up to the Grand Slam grass-court tournament. But in this case, the appearance of Sinner's name is an important clue about the intentions of the South Tyrolean champion, who interrupted his season almost three months after triumphing at Wimbledon to undergo conservative treatment prescribed by the medical-orthopedic team in Lyon. (PRIMASPORT)