Jannik Sinner underlined why he is the world’s best men’s player by securing back-to-back Australian Open titles with a merciless victory over Alexander Zverev on Sunday.
Italian top seed Sinner delivered in the decisive moments to secure a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over second seed Zverev.
Despite an ongoing doping case hanging over him, Sinner has been able to block out the noise to claim a third Grand Slam title.
After sealing victory with a composed cross-court winner on his first championship point, the 23-year-old calmly raised his hands into the air before walking over to celebrate with his team.
The straight-set win was a demonstration of Sinner’s relentless baseline game, physical power and mental steeliness.
Zverev did not have the tools to break him down and became increasingly frustrated as a result.
The 27-year-old German becomes the sixth man in the Open era to lose his first three Grand Slam finals, having also been beaten at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open.
After slumping forlornly into his chair, a visibly upset Zverev hunched forward and covered his face with a towel.
“It sucks standing next to this trophy,” said Zverev, whose speech was delayed by a heckling spectator.
“I was hoping to be more competitive but Jannik was just too good – as simple as that.”
Backing up the finest season of your career – and one of the most dominant in recent memory – is the challenge facing Sinner this year.
The manner in which he has swept to the Australian Open suggests he is more than capable of reaching the same heights which led to two major trophies, six more ATP titles, a Davis Cup triumph with Italy and an overall record of 73 wins from 79 matches.
What makes his achievements even more extraordinary is the unsettling situation surrounding his ongoing doping case.
It was announced in August that Sinner had tested positive for the banned substance clostebol, sending shockwaves around the sport.
While he was cleared of wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the decision and is seeking a one to two-year ban.
In a difficult time, the tennis court has become his sanctuary.
Mental steeliness has been one of Sinner’s key strengths in his ascent to becoming the ATP Tour’s most dominant player and his ability to block out the noise has been useful.
Sinner’s coping mechanism has been to try and “isolate” himself but his coach Darren Cahill provided a telling insight when he said nobody is “bulletproof”.
However, Sinner has been as close to fully-armoured as he could have been in the circumstances.
He has swatted his way through the draw with relative ease, with perhaps the hot and humid conditions in his fourth-round match against Denmark’s Holger Rune being his toughest opponent.
The way in which he ruthlessly dismantled Zverev was a stark contrast to the fight he needed to recover from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev last year.
The way Sinner secured his first championship point – calmly luring his opponent forward with a drop-shot before drilling a backhand past him – illustrated the ease he felt.
BBC Sport
