World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on Sunday to win the Australian Open for the second straight year. Sinner is the first Italian to win three Grand Slams, as he also won the 2024 US Open.
Sinner dominated from the beginning and did not face a break point throughout the two-hour, 42-minute match. He is 80-6 since the start of 2024, which includes nine ATP trophies — three of them majors.
“We worked a lot to be in this position and it is an amazing feeling to share this moment with all of you,” Sinner told his team. “I know a part of the team is at home and my family, but it is amazing to share these feelings with you. I know Darren (Cahill) it is probably your last Australian Open as a coach and I am very, very happy to share this trophy with you. Everything started a little bit when I changed my combination of coaches and physio, I am very happy to have you all here.”
Cahill, who joined Sinner’s team in July 2022, is retiring at the end of the 2025 season.
The rest of Italian men have three combined Grand Slams, with Nicola Pietrangeli winning the French Open in 1959 and 1960, and Adriano Panatta winning it in 1976. Sinner, 23, is also the youngest man to win at Melbourne Park two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93.
This was Zverev’s third major final, but the German star is still chasing his first Grand Slam trophy. He advanced to the title match after 24-Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic retired in the semifinals because of an injury.
Zverev’s forehand is not a forte and he was visibly struggling with it against Djokovic, but it proved costly against Sinner. He registered 35 forehand errors and just three forehand winners through the match. Three of those errors happened in the opening game. He tried to play aggressively and kept coming to the net, but Zverev never really found a way to truly challenge Sinner.
“Congratulations to Jannik, you more than deserve it,” Zverev said. “You are the best player in the world by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today but you are just too good, it’s as simple as that.”
