'Next Gen' star Sinner makes successful Melbourne debut

MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Being labelled the 'next big thing' in men's tennis can be a heavy burden for a teenager but Jannik Sinner wore the mantle lightly on Tuesday in winning his debut at the Australian Open.

The shaggy-haired 18-year-old, who won the ATP's Next Gen championship in November, finished off Australian qualifier Max Purcell 7-6(2) 6-2 6-4 on Court 7 after his victory march was stalled in the third set by torrential rain that halted play on outside courts on Monday.

Sinner, who hails from a German-speaking region in the Italian Alps, dealt with the rain break with the same minimum of fuss that he has in managing his rapid rise in tennis.

"We waited here till 8:00 p.m. (on Monday), so it's been a long day yesterday for me, for every player," he told reporters.

"I tried to go on court with a good mentality, and I started well. Yeah, that was the key."

Sinner, ranked 82nd in the world, underlined his enormous promise by upsetting No. 23 Australian Alex De Minaur in the Next Gen final in front of home fans in Milan.

The $372,000 winner's cheque comfortably topped his total career earnings to that point.

The Italian certainly caught the eye of American great John McEnroe.

"He’s one of the most talented kids I’ve seen in 10 years," McEnroe said of Sinner last week.

Top players have being keen to get some practice hits with him, with Swiss master Roger Federer impressed by Sinner's groundstrokes and footwork.

"What I like about him is he’s almost got the same speed of shot on forehand and backhand," the 20-times Grand Slam champion said at Melbourne Park on Monday.

"Then he can play again like most of the best movers in the world right now ... I think we’ll see so much more from him. He’s an exciting guy and a super sweet kid."

Sinner is coached by compatriot Riccardo Piatti, who worked with Novak Djokovic in his teen years along with other former top 10 players like Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet.

He next faces Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who played brilliantly to down Canada's young gun Denis Shapovalov, the 13th seed.

Despite his rapid rise up the rankings, Sinner is in no hurry and knows time is on his side.

"I'm not thinking so much about the ranking. We are just trying to make match after match good, trying to play better, and then we will see," he added.

"I don't want to (be) rushed about this."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford )