5 youngest male players to win Australian Open and US Open in same year ft. Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic
Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam of the year at the US Open after triumphing at the Australian Open earlier in 2024. Consequently, the Italian became the second youngest man to win both slams in the same year in tennis history.
Winning a Grand Slam is among the most challenging tasks in the sporting world, and emerging victorious in two of them in a single year is even more remarkable. Many tennis greats have achieved this feat over the years, and some have done it on the courts of the Australian Open and the US Open.
With that said, let's take a look at the five youngest men to win both the Grand Slams in the same year:
#5 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic was 24 years and 113 days old when he won the Australian Open and the US Open in the same year for the first time in his career. He accomplished the feat in 2011. The Serb picked up his second Australian Open title in 2011 after beating Andy Murray and his first US Open with a win over Rafael Nadal.
Novak Djokovic has won both the Grand Slams in the same year two more times in his career so far. He bettered Murray and Roger Federer in finals at Melbourne and New York, respectively, in 2015 and Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 title contests.
#4 Mats Wilander
Swedish legend Mats Wilander won the Australian Open and US Open in 1988 at 24 years and 10 days. Wilander was the title holder in Melbourne three times in his career and the only player to win the event on both grass and hard courts. In 1988, the Australian Open was played on the hard court for the first time, and Wilander defeated Pat Cash over five sets in the finals.
The Swede also won the French Open in 1988 and closed out the year with his seventh and last Major in the USA. Wilander needed five sets to get the better of Ivan Lendl and grab his only title in New York.
#3 Roger Federer
Roger Federer won his maiden titles at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2004 at the age of 23 years and 35 days. The Swiss maverick bettered Marat Safin to win the first of his six Australian Open titles in 2004 and Lleyton Hewitt in the final at Flushing Meadows the same year. Federer also won the Wimbledon Championships in 2004.
He won all three titles in the same year, again in 2006 and 2007. Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Roddick in the final in Melbourne, London, and New York, respectively, in 2006 and bested Fernando Gonzalez, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in the title contests the following year.
#2 Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner made his way on this list in 2024 after lifting his second Grand Slam at the US Open, aged 23 years and 23 days. The Italian began the year with his maiden Major at the Australian Open, with a win over Daniil Medvedev in a five-setter finale.
Jannik Sinner closed out the Grand Slam season in the same way by lifting the title in New York with a straight-set win over Taylor Fritz. In the process, he also became the first Italian man to win the Australian Open and the US Open in tennis history.
#1 Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors won eight Grand Slam titles in his career, with the first three coming in 1974. The American was the champion at the 1974 Australian Open (d. Phil Dent), Wimbledon (d. Ken Rosewall), and US Open (d. Ken Rosewall). He was 22 years and six days old when he won in New York for the first time.
Interestingly, Connors won all three titles on the grass court. The Australian Open was played on grass from 1905 to 1987. The US Open switched from grass to hard in 1974, making Connors the last man to win the tournament on its original surface.