Australian Open 2025: Sinner wins his second straight title

On By Littum

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – There are all kinds of ways beyond just the scoring to measure how dominant Jannik Sinner was while he was exposed to and frustrating Alexander Zverev During the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory on Sunday, the 23-year-old Italian earned a second consecutive Australian Open championship.

Zero Break Points Sinner faced. Or the 10 he accumulated. The advantage 27-13 in points that lasted at least nine strokes. Or the way Sinner accumulated more winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45. The way Sinner won 10 of 13 points that ended with him at the net. Or the way he only let Zverev go 14 of 27 in this category, often zipping passing shots out of reach.

And here’s another bit of evidence: Listen to what Zverev told Sinner during the on-court trophy ceremony: “You’re by far the best player in the world. I was hoping I could be more of a competitor today, but you’re just too good. It’s as simple as that. “

This is coming from the guy who is ranked no. 2 behind Sinner, who has had no. 1 place since last June and shows no signs of letting up. 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 – Also in straight sets.

“It’s amazing,” Sinner said, “to achieve these things.”

That includes being the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years running since Jim Courier in 1992-93 and the first man since Nadal at the French Open in 2005 and 2006 to follow up his first Grand Slam Title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner has won three of the five majors, including the US Open in September, and his record in that span is 80-6 with a total of nine tournament titles. His current unbeaten run covers 21 matches.

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Jannik Sinner of Italy, right, and Alexander Zverev of Germany walk past each other during the men’s singles final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The only thing that has flooded the last 12 months for the sinner, it seems, is a doping case where he was cleared by a decision appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid twice last March but blamed it on an accidental exposure involving two members of his team who have since been fired. Sinner was originally released in August; -one Hearing in the WADA appeal is scheduled for April.

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 go 0-3, adding this loss to those at the 2020 US Open and The 2024 French Open.

Those previous setbacks both came in five sets. This contest was not that close. Not at all.

“We try to do all the right work,” Zverev said. “I’m just not good enough.”

Just before Zverev began accused him of physical abuse.

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Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a backhand return to Jannik Sinner of Italy during the men’s singles final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

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Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a forehand return to Alexander Zverev of Germany during the men’s singles final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

During the match, there was really only one moment that felt like it contained a hint of tension. It came when Zverev was two points from owning the second set, leading it 5-4 and at Love-30 on Sinner’s serve. But a break point – and a set point – never arrived.

Zverev dropped the next four points to make it 5-all and the culprit emerged with the ensuing tiebreaker. No surprise there: He went 4-0 in those set-deciders in the last two weeks and has grabbed 16 of his last 18.

A year ago, Sinner went through much more trouble earning his first slam and needed to get past Novak Djokovic – who went down a set in his semi-final Against Zverev on Friday due to a torn hamstring-first before erasing a two-set deficit in the final against 2021 US Open Champion Daniil Medvedev.

This time, the 6-foot-3 (1.91 meter) sinner applied pressure with an all-round style that doesn’t really seem to have any gaps as his sneakers scream from a sprint to a slide that often almost ends in the split and He uses his long limbs to deliver deep groundstrokes.

Tonight, he proved superior in almost every meaningful way, except for aces.

Returning serves from Zverev that reached 138 mph (223 km/h), Sinner got the lone break of the opening set with a passing shot for a 5–4 lead. Zverev walked back behind the baseline and shook his head as he spoke to his father and brother, who sat in the front row of their Court coaches’ box.

There was more negative body language after Sinner served what was set to love to continue his crescendo, the final note an ace at 120 km/h (194 mph). Zverev trudged to his bench, shoulders that said and dropped his racket on an equipment bag, a gesture that conveyed annoyance more than anger. Later it became the latter: Zverev broke a racket on the court and used a racket to hit another on the sideline.

Understandable considering what Sinner did on the other side of the net.

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: