MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s all kinds of how past merely the rating to measure simply how dominant Jannik Sinner was whereas outplaying and irritating Alexander Zverev through the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory Sunday that earned the 23-year-old Italian a second consecutive Australian Open championship.
The zero break factors Sinner confronted. Or the ten he collected. The 27-13 benefit in factors that lasted at the least 9 strokes. Or the best way Sinner collected extra winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45. The best way Sinner gained 10 of the 13 factors that ended with him on the internet. Or the best way he solely let Zverev go 14 of 27 in that class, ceaselessly zipping passing pictures out of attain.
Effectively, right here’s is yet one more little bit of proof: what Zverev mentioned about Sinner.
“I’m serving better than him, but that’s it. He does everything else better than me. He moves better than me. He hits his forehand better than me. He hits his backhand better than me. He returns better than me. He volleys better than me,” Zverev mentioned. “At the end of the day, tennis has five or six massive shots — like, massive factors — and he does four or five of them better than me. That’s the reason why he won.”
Excessive reward from a man who’s, in spite of everything, ranked No. 2. Sinner has held the No. 1 spot since final June and is just not displaying any indicators of relinquishing it. This was the primary Australian Open last between the lads at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal — additionally in straight units.
“It’s amazing,” Sinner mentioned, “to achieve these things.”
The “things” embrace being the youngest man to go away Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93, and the primary man since Nadal on the French Open in 2005 and 2006 to observe up his first Grand Slam title by repeating because the champion on the identical match a yr later.
Sinner was requested later whether or not he felt extra aid or pleasure when he raised his arms after the final level was his.
“This one was joy. We managed to do something incredible this time, because the situation I was in was completely different from a year ago here,” he mentioned. “I had more pressure.”
Most likely true, however’s exhausting to inform.
Go to the beginning of 2024, and take inventory. In that span, Sinner has gained three of the 5 main tournaments, together with the U.S. Open in September, that means he now has claimed three straight hard-court Slams. His file is 80-6 with 9 titles. His present unbeaten run covers 21 matches.
“There’s always something that can get better,” mentioned one among his two coaches, Simone Vagnozzi. “He is playing really well right now and everything comes easily. But there will be tough moments ahead.”
The one factor that’s clouded the previous 12 months for Sinner, it appears, is the doping case by which his exoneration was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Company. He examined optimistic for a hint quantity of an anabolic steroid twice final March however blamed it on an unintentional publicity involving two members of his crew who’ve since been fired. Sinner initially was cleared in August; a listening to within the WADA attraction is scheduled for April.
“I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened,” Sinner mentioned Sunday. “I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this.”
Whereas he turned the eighth man within the Open period (which started in 1968) to start out his profession 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, Zverev is the seventh to be 0-3, including this loss to these on the 2020 U.S. Open and final yr’s French Open.
These earlier setbacks each got here in 5 units. This contest was not that shut. By no means.
“I’ll keep doing everything I can,” Zverev mentioned, “to lift one of those trophies.”
Simply earlier than Zverev started talking right into a microphone through the trophy ceremony, a voice cried out from the stands, making reference to 2 of the participant’s ex-girlfriends who accused him of bodily abuse.
Throughout the match, there actually was just one second that contained a touch of pressure. It got here when Zverev was two factors from proudly owning the second set at 5-4, love-30. However a break level — and a set level — by no means arrived.
A yr in the past, Sinner went by way of much more bother to earn his first main, needing to get previous Novak Djokovic — who give up one set into his semifinal in opposition to Zverev on Friday due to a torn hamstring — earlier than erasing a two-set deficit within the last in opposition to 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
This time, Sinner utilized strain with an all-around model that doesn’t actually seem to have holes.
He proved superior in each significant approach aside from aces, leaving Zverev shaking his head or trudging to the sideline with shoulders sagging or cracking his racket in opposition to the court docket or in opposition to one other racket.
Completely comprehensible, given what Sinner can do to an opponent, particularly on a tough court docket.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Zverev mentioned. “He’s in a different universe right now.”
By Howard Fendrich
Initially Printed: January 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM EST
