MELBOURNE, Australia — It takes all sorts of ways beyond just the score to measure how impressive Jannik Sinner was as he outwitted and frustrated Alexander Zverev during Sunday’s 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory. There are ways of, which earned 23-. The year-old Italian won the Australian Open Championship for the second consecutive time.
Papi faced zero break points. Or the 10 he had collected. A 27-13 advantage in points that lasted at least nine strokes. Or the way Sinner scored more winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45. Along the way Sinner won 10 of the 13 points that ended with him at the net. Or the way he allowed Zverev to go just 14 of 27 in that category, repeatedly putting passing shots out of reach.
And here’s another proof: Listen to what Zverev said to Sinner during the trophy ceremony on the court: “You are by far the best player in the world. I was hoping I could be more competitive today, but you’ve been great. Its as simple as that.”
This is coming from the man who ranked No. 2 behind Sinner, who has held the No. 1 spot since last June and shows no signs of relinquishing it. This was the first Australian Open final between the No. 1 and No. 2 men since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
“It’s amazing,” Sinner said, “to accomplish these things.”
This includes being 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 to repeat his first Grand Slam title since Nadal at the French Open in 2005 and 2006. Champion in 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 a total of nine tournament titles. Their current unbeaten run covers 21 matches.
It seems that the only thing that has been in trouble for Sinner in the last 12 months is a doping case in which he was acquitted by a decision which was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for small amounts of anabolic steroids twice last March, but this was attributed to accidental exposure involving two members of his team, who have since been fired. Papi was initially acquitted in August; A hearing on the WADA appeal is scheduled for April.
While Sinner became the eighth man in the Open era (which began in 1968) to start his career 3–0 in Grand Slam finals, Zverev is the seventh to start his career at 0–3, with this loss being postponed to the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open. .
Both of those first setbacks came in five sets. This match was not that close. no way.
“We’re all trying to do the right thing,” Zverev said. “I’m no good at all.”
Just before Zverev spoke into the microphone during the trophy ceremony, a voice came from the stands, referring to the player’s two ex-girlfriends who had accused him of physical abuse.
During the match, there was really only one moment where it felt like there was a hint of tension. It happened when Zverev was two points away from capturing the second set, leading 5-4 and at love-30 on Sinner’s serve. But a break point – and a set point – never came.
Zverev dropped the next four points, making the score 5–5, and Sinner emerged with the ensuing tiebreaker. It’s no surprise: He’s gone 4-0 in those set-deciders over the past two weeks and has captured 16 of his last 18.
A year ago, Sinner faced much more trouble to earn his first Slam, needing to get past Novak Djokovic — who dropped a set in Friday’s semifinal against Zverev because of a hamstring tear — first. , before overcoming a two-set deficit in the final against 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
This time, the 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) Sinner applied pressure with an all-around style that didn’t really see any holes as his sneakers squeaked from a sprint to a slide that often nearly ended in splits. and he uses his long limbs to deliver deep groundstrokes.
On this night, apart from the aces, he proved superior in almost every meaningful way.
Returning Zverev’s serve up to 138 mph (223 kph), Sinner got the only break of the opening set with a passing shot for a 5–4 lead. Zverev walked behind the baseline, shaking his head while talking to his father and brother, who sat in the front row of his courtside coach box.
There was more negative body language after Sinner completed that set to continue his climax, the final note being an ace at 120 mph (194 kph). Zverev walked towards his bench, hunching his shoulders, and dropped his racket on the equipment bag, a gesture that expressed more irritation than anger. Later, it became the latter: Zverev broke one racket on the court and used one racket to hit another on the sidelines.
It makes sense, considering what Sinner was doing on the other side of the net.