Melbourne, Australia– Yannick Siner He defended his Australian Open title with a near-flawless performance in the men’s final on Sunday, defeating the second seed Alexander Zverev In straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his third Grand Slam title.
Top-seeded Sinner reached the final on a 20-match winning streak on hard courts at majors, going a perfect 21-21 to add a second consecutive Melbourne title to his US Open win last year.
The Italian coach’s dominant performance was punctuated by the fact that he became only the fourth man to win a major final without facing a break point since 1991, when the statistics were first recorded.
“It was an amazing performance on my part,” Sinner said. “I felt like at the beginning of the match I was serving well and trying to get into the box very quickly. It was a very high quality shot. [match] From my side.”
It was the first Australian Open final between the top two men since 2019, when the No. 1s were ranked first. Novak Djokovic He 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 maiden Grand Slam title with a repeat. Champion in the same tournament a year later.
Since the start of 2024, Sinner has won three of the five major championships, 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, it’s been an amazing start again here in Australia,” he said. “I’m so happy. Sharing this with the team here and family and people I love, it’s amazing.”
The only thing that seems to have hung over Sinner in the past 12 months is the doping case in which he was acquitted under a ruling appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace amount of anabolic steroid twice in March, but blamed that on accidental exposure to two members of his team who have since been fired. The sinner was initially acquitted in August. A hearing on WADA’s appeal is scheduled for April.
Sinner had the upper hand since the middle of the first set and threatened to break his opponent’s serve 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 he couldn’t save. In a marathon match that included four deuces, Sinner broke on his fourth break point and then served the opener at 6-3.
Zverev was not having a bad game by any means. His level was high, but Sinner was constantly putting his opponent under much more pressure on his serve games. While Zverev found himself fending off challenges on his serve, Sinner navigated his matches with the ball in hand.
Zverev’s closest chance to breaking his opponent’s serve was in the 12th game, where the German player led 6-5 with 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 match point with a shaky lob and a wild shot into the net, clinching the set in his favor. It will be decided in a tiebreaker.
Both men struggled with their serves early in the tiebreak, but the bright spot – and the moment that turned the match – came with Zverev serving at 4-4. Sinner’s forehand hit the net but had enough momentum to carry itself over the net, landing just inside the tram lines.
Sinner got a short break and served the set mercilessly, much to the frustration of Zverev, who smashed his racket before sitting down on the break.
The third set played in a familiar manner. After serving for 2-3, Zverev once again found himself in a 15-40 hole, and while he saved one break point, he was unable to save another. It proved to be the separation Sinner needed to finally serve up the match.
Sinner said he felt like he had saved his best effort of the tournament for the final.
“I felt like I was getting on the field and trying to be very aggressive at first, and that gave me confidence that I felt the ball a certain way,” he said. “Yes, when you get up one set, it gives you confidence.
“It’s always trying to stay there mentally, trying to play every point in the best way possible. Like I said, in the tiebreak, I was a little bit lucky there. But how I dealt with every situation on the court, not just today in the final, but also.” Overall it was very nice.”
For Zverev, it’s a third Grand Slam final, a third loss, and some unwanted history: He’s the first man in tennis history to play his first three major finals at three different Grand Slams and lose each one, after his failure at the 2020 US Open. Open final And the 2024 French Open final.
Zverev said he was determined to raise his game to put himself in a position to get a big win, but Sinner was in a “different world” to everyone else on the tour and playing like “Novak’s boss.”
“In general, I think Yannick is better than me at the moment,” Zverev said. “It’s that simple. I think I serve better than Yannick, and everything else he does is better. So at the end of the day, he deserves to win. He’s the best player on hard courts at the moment. It’s that simple.” .
“The facts speak for themselves. He’s won every Grand Slam on hard courts since last year. I think he’s lost three matches on hard courts since last year. … He’s in a different world now than everyone else. He’s like Prime Minister Novak, It is very difficult to get past it.
He added: “Now for the third time, when I see someone lifting the trophy, standing next to them is difficult because there is nothing I want more than to be able to hold one of those trophies in my hands.”
Sinner’s victory means he will retain his world number one spot when the ATP updates its rankings on Monday, with second seed Zverev widening the gap between him and the third seed. Carlos Alcaraz.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
