The fans inside Rod Laver Arena lauded both players’ clean ball striking, but it was Sesko’s ability to hold his nerve in the big moments that stood out, winning 57 per cent of break points to the American’s 38 per cent.
The Slovenian’s dominance at the net was another, winning 77 per cent of his net points to Hance’s 59 per cent.
“I would say that’s the point of my game,” Sesko said about his front-footed approach. “I really like to go forward a lot because I play an aggressive style, and I would say I have a pretty good volley.
“That is paying off in the matches.”
Hailing from Hrastnik, a small town in central Slovenia of about 10,000 people, Sesko started playing tennis at a local club with his father, who was a table tennis player.
He was in red-hot form on his way to the final, besting second seed Luis Miguel in the quarterfinals and third seed Ryo Tabata in the final four.
The talented youngster said the plan before the season was to “play mostly professional tournaments this year”.
“But after winning a Grand Slam, I dunno, we will need to make a new plan,” he said.
And how will he celebrate his victory?
He has a flight booked Sunday night to join his country’s Davis Cup team ahead of Friday’s tie against Turkiye.