Melbourne, Jan 27: Sinner clinched his second-straight Australian Open men’s singles title on Sunday, beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Sinner registered a commanding 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 win in the final; it was his third Grand Slam title and second in succession, following his US Open victory last year. The 23-year-old also became the first Italian to win three Grand Slams.At 23, Sinner is the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93.
Sinner was dominant from the word go, breaking Zverevās serve in the eighth game of the opening set and closing it out emphatically with an ace. The second set was a tightly contested affair, with both players holding serve before Sinner edged ahead in a tense tiebreaker. His dominance continued in the final set, as Sinner didn’t face a single break point before winning on his serve, closing out the match without much discomfort.
Sinner rose to No. 1 last June, remaining there for every week since, and the gap between him and No. 2-ranked Zverev was pronounced as can be in Rod Laver Arena. 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 ā also in straight sets.
remarkable, particularly given the cloud of uncertainty he navigated last year during a doping case in which he was ultimately exonerated. With victory, Sinner joined an elite club, replicating Rafael Nadalās feat of winning back-to-back titles at the same Grand Slam following a maiden major victory.
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 be 0-3, adding this loss to those at the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2024 French Open.