Three weeks after his breakthrough victory over Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final, Sinner continued his winning streak by defeating Alex de Minaur in the final of the Rotterdam tournament. This marked his 12th consecutive win of the season, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since Lleyton Hewitt won the Japan Open after his 2001 US Open triumph. Hewitt secured his first Grand Slam title by defeating Pete Sampras in the final at Flushing Meadows, and then went on to beat Michel Kratochvil in the Japan Open final four weeks later.
Interestingly, none of the 16 first-time major winners that followed Hewitt were able to win a title in their next ATP Tour event. So how did the top players compare to Hewitt and Sinner in their first tournaments after winning a major?
Carlos Alcaraz, the most recent first-time Grand Slam winner, claimed his maiden Slam at the US Open in 2022, defeating Casper Ruud. He then entered the Astana Open as the top seed, but suffered a defeat in his opening match against David Goffin.
Before Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz had been the newest Grand Slam winner, having triumphed at Flushing Meadows nearly two years ago. Medvedev, on the other hand, had finished as the runner-up at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open before finally clinching the title at the 2021 US Open by defeating Novak Djokovic. He made his return to the Indian Wells Open in October, where he won his first two matches but was ultimately eliminated by Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Dominic Thiem had been a three-time runner-up before winning his first Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open. Following his victory, he participated in the rescheduled French Open and won his first three matches in straight sets. However, he faced tough battles in the fourth round against Hugo Gaston and in the quarter-final against Diego Schwartzman, ultimately losing to Schwartzman in five sets.
Marin Cilic, the winner of the 2014 US Open, advanced to the quarter-finals of the China Open in his next ATP event, but was defeated by Andy Murray. Stan Wawrinka, another first-time Grand Slam winner in 2014, reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open before being eliminated by Kevin Anderson.
In 2013, Andy Murray broke the British curse by becoming the first British men’s singles Grand Slam winner since 1936. He followed up his victory at the US Open by reaching the semi-finals of the Japan Open, where he was defeated by Milos Raonic.
Juan Martin del Potro, who won the 2009 US Open, suffered an early exit in the first round of the Japan Open, losing to Edouard Roger Vasselin. Novak Djokovic, after winning his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open, was eliminated in the second round of the Marseille Open by Gilles Simon.
Rafael Nadal, after winning his first Grand Slam at the 2005 French Open, returned to action at the Halle Open and was defeated by Alexander Waske. Gaston Gaudio, winner of the 2002 French Open, reached the final of the Swedish Open in Bastad but fell short against Mariano Puerta.
Roger Federer, following his maiden Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon in 2003, reached the final of the Swiss Open in Gstaad but lost to Jiri Novak. Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open, was eliminated in the third round of the Madrid Open by Nicolas Massu. Juan Carlos Ferrero, winner of the 2003 French Open, was defeated by Sebastian Grosjean in the Wimbledon tournament.
Albert Costa, the 2002 French Open champion, suffered an early exit in the first round of the Gastaad tournament, losing to qualifier Paul Henri Mathieu. Lastly, Thomas Johansson, winner of the 2002 Australian Open, lost his next match against Greg Rusedski at the Marseille Open.
According to the Source tennis365.com