Jannik Sinner is a Gucci poster boy, has a model girlfriend, drives Ferraris and has an income of $12 million at the age of 22… now the VERY talented Italian tennis star has a first Grand Slam within his reach after the stunning Novak Djokovic

Jannik Sinner may be a poster boy for Gucci, but the Italian has proven on the tennis court that he has the substance to back up the style.

The 22-year-old ended Novak Djokovic's Australian Open dominance with a stunning semi-final victory on Friday and is now within touching distance of his first Grand Slam.

Sinner inflicted the all-conquering Djokovic's first defeat in Melbourne since 2018, proving that the rising tennis generation actually has the game and the bottle to beat the old guard.

A win in Sunday's final would take the multi-talented Sinner to a whole new level, with many years ahead of him to cement his place in tennis history.

Sinner combines tennis skills and looks that have earned him collaborations with the luxury fashion house Gucci and the iconic Italian car brand Ferrari.

He is in a relationship with stunning model and influencer Maria Braccini, but chooses to keep their relationship very private.

She has a closed Instagram profile and Sinner rarely posts photos of them together, both preferring private life, something that may be tested as his face grows.

Despite his young years, Sinner already has an estimated new value of $12 million [£9.46m] and this weekend's Australian Open success will earn him another $2.1 million [£1.65m] in prize money.

The victory will also delight Sinner's devoted fan base, known as the 'Carota Boys' or 'Carrot Boys' after his red hair.

Born in August 2001 in San Candido, a small town in northern Italy near the Austrian border, Sinner grew up in modest surroundings with parents Hanspeter and Siglinde, and was a ski champion as a boy.

He has a brother, Mark, but details about the family are scarce. They are rarely seen during his matches and his social media is dominated by endorsement deals and professional images from the field.

Sinner shared a rare photo of him and his brother in 2019, but fans find the family's dynamics mysterious, even though they are widely seen as hard-working people with strong moral values.

Sinner, who now lives in Monte Carlo, has a similar private relationship with his girlfriend Braccini.

The model, who has 103,000 followers on her private Instagram page, has been described as 'introverted' and 'fiercely private', often keeping a low profile around the bright lights of Sinner's burgeoning career.

Braccini watched him at Wimbledon, but managed to avoid the cameras, something Sinner seems happy about.

But back to Sinner's early life, and things could have turned out so differently if patience had been applied to his skiing career.

'Skiing is a very common sport to practice where I am. There are a lot of ski slopes literally right outside my front door,” Sinner once told ATPtour.com.

'I remember the first time I went skiing. My brother had some lessons and I saw him and I wanted to go, but my mother told me, “Not today.”

“I kept crying to her and asking, and then she said, 'Okay, let's do this.' They expected me to go one day and then I would go home. But I stayed all day until they closed the slopes. After that I went every day and loved it.”

Sinner was a natural talent, far superior to many children his age, and he soon became one of the best junior skiers in Italy.

Skiing was number 1. Football was number 2. Tennis was number 3.

Trophies soon came rolling in, competition after competition, but at the age of 13, Sinner, who had dropped football at the time, began to feel physically inferior on the slopes.

“One year I won a lot of trophies skiing, but the next year I felt the others were so much stronger physically,” he added.

'I went out twice and didn't feel comfortable anymore. I really loved tennis because everything came from my side. I had my head under control, which is very difficult when skiing.'

One of his early ski coaches praised his “mountain mentality,” which he has since been able to apply to tennis. But now he was all about tennis.

Sinner, wise beyond his years, chose to leave home at the age of 13 to really make a success of tennis. He left friends and family behind and left, determined to turn pro.

'When I left home at the age of thirteen, I dreamed of becoming a professional. Seven years later I am in the top ten,” he reflected in 2021.

Riccardo Piatti's academy in Bordighera, Italy, was where Sinner would end up and their relationship was almost paternal in nature.

Claudio Pistolesi, the 1985 world number 1 junior, once told ATPTour.com that Sinner's unconventional route to the Tour, via the ski slopes, helped – not hindered him.

“Like Lorenzo Sonego, who played football until he was 14, he broke all the rules you follow from an academy perspective because he played another sport at a good level,” Pistolesi said.

“He brings some lateral skills to tennis by skiing his movements around the court, and he automatically steps into the ball.”

His rise continued to where the Association of Tennis Professionals named him Newcomer of the Year in 2019, before becoming the first player born in the 2000s to break the top 10 in 2021.

Last year he reached his first Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, but was defeated by Djokovic in straight sets.

The player nicknamed 'The Fox' caused a stir at SW19 by walking onto the pitch with a personalized Gucci bag.

In addition to posing for Gucci photo shoots, Sinner has lucrative collaborations with Nike, Head, Rolex, Gucci, Lavazza, Alfa Romeo, Technogym and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Continuing the theme of Italian cool, Sinner recently got behind the wheel of sleek Ferrari sports cars during a visit to the brand's famous base in Maranello.

Since he speaks Italian, German and English, it's no wonder brands consider him highly marketable.

This time, however, the tables were turned for Djokovic as Sinner triumphed in four thrilling sets and even managed to overcome the disappointment of a missed match point in the third.

Now the immensely talented Sinner has a first Slam success within reach.