Sinner rolls to 2nd straight Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia — Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open crown with a near-flawless display in the men’s final Sunday, defeating second seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his third career Grand Slam title.

The top-seeded Sinner came into the final riding a 20-match hard-court win streak in majors, and he made it a perfect 21-for-21 as he added a second consecutive Melbourne title to his US Open victory from last year.

The dominant display from the Italian was punctuated by the fact that he became just the fourth man to win a major final without facing a break point since 1991, when the stat was first recorded.

“It was an amazing performance from my side,” Sinner said. “I felt like I was in the beginning of the match serving really well and trying to get into the zone very fast. It was a very high-quality [match] from my side.”

This was the first Australian Open final between the men at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal — also in straight sets.

Sinner became the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93 and the first man since Nadal at the French Open in 2005-06 to follow up his first Grand Slam title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner has won three of the five major tournaments, including the US Open in September, and his record in that span is 80-6 with nine tournament titles. His current unbeaten run covers 21 matches.

“All things considered, amazing run again here in Australia,” he said. “I’m extremely happy. Sharing this with the team here and family and the people I love, it’s amazing.”

The only thing that has clouded the past 12 months for Sinner, it seems, is a doping case in which he was cleared by a ruling that was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid twice in March but blamed it on an accidental exposure involving two members of his team who have since been fired. Sinner initially was exonerated in August; a hearing in the WADA appeal is scheduled for April.

Sinner had the upper hand from midway through the first set, threatening to break in the fourth game with Zverev in a 15-40 hole. But Zverev managed to fend off the reigning champion.

Sinner would get another chance in the eighth game, another 15-40 hole for Zverev, and one that he couldn’t salvage. In a marathon game that involved four deuces, Sinner broke on his fourth break point chance then served out the opener 6-3.

Zverev was by no means playing a poor match; his level was high, but Sinner continually put his opponent under significantly more pressure on his service games. While Zverev found himself fending off challenges on serve, Sinner was cruising through his games with ball in hand.

The closest Zverev came to a break point chance was in the 12th game, with the German leading 6-5 on Sinner’s serve. At 30-30, Zverev had the upper hand in a marathon 21-shot rally, but Sinner pulled a rabbit out of the hat to win the point of the match after a shaky lob and a haphazard net approach, all but consigning the set to be decided in a tiebreaker.

Both men struggled on their serve early in the tiebreak, but the flash point — and moment that turned the match — came with Zverev serving at 4-4. A Sinner forehand slapped into the netting but had enough momentum to carry itself over the net, landing just inside the tram lines.

Sinner had the minibreak and ruthlessly served out the set, much to the frustration of Zverev, who smashed his racket before sitting down for the break.

The third set played out in familiar fashion. Serving down 2-3, Zverev again found himself in a 15-40 hole, and while he saved one break point, he couldn’t save another. It proved to be the separation Sinner needed to eventually serve out the match.

Sinner said he felt like he saved his best tennis of the tournament for the final.

“I felt like how I entered the court, trying to be quite aggressive in the beginning, this gave me then the confidence that I feel the ball in a certain way,” he said. “Yeah, when you get up one set, this gives you the confidence.

“It’s trying to stay always there mentally, trying to play every point in the best possible way. As I said, tiebreak, got a bit lucky there. But how I handled every situation on the court, not only today in the final, but in general was very nice.”

For Zverev, it’s a third Grand Slam final, a third loss, and some unwanted history: He is the first man in tennis history to play his first three major finals at three different Slams and lose each one, after falling short at the 2020 US Open final and the 2024 French Open final.

Zverev said he is determined to raise his level to put himself in a position to break through for a major win but that Sinner was in “a different universe” to everyone else on the tour and playing like “prime Novak.”

“In general, I think Jannik is better than me at the moment,” Zverev said. “It’s as simple as that. I think I served better than Jannik, and everything else he does better. So at the end of the day, he deserves to win. He’s the best player on hard courts right now. It’s as simple as that.

“The facts speak for themselves. He’s won all the Grand Slams on hard courts since last year. He’s lost, I think, three matches on hard courts since last year. … He’s in a different universe right now to anyone else. It’s like he’s prime Novak. It’s so difficult to go through him.

“Now for the third time, seeing somebody lift the trophy, me standing next to that is difficult because there’s nothing more I want than to be able to hold one of those trophies in my hands.”

Sinner’s triumph means he retains the world No. 1 spot when the ATP updates its rankings Monday, with No. 2 Zverev widening the gap between himself and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.