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.
The Italian top seed delivered in the decisive moments to win 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 against the second seed.
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.
“It’s an incredible tournament for me, I hope I can keep it going,” said Sinner, who is the first Italian player to win three majors.
The straight-set win was a demonstration of Sinner’s relentless baseline game, physical power and mental steeliness.
Zverev could not create a single break point in the match and grew increasingly frustrated as his game failed to trouble Sinner.
The 27-year-old German becomes the sixth man in the Open era to lose his first three Grand Slam finals, having also fallen at the final hurdle 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.
His runner-up speech was delayed by a heckling spectator who made an apparent reference to past domestic abuse allegations against the player.
Zverev, who denied the allegations and had a Berlin court case brought by one woman discontinued last year, then addressed the crowd.
“It sucks standing next to this trophy,” he said.
“I was hoping to be more competitive but Jannik was just too good – as simple as that.”
