Arms aloft, Jannik Sinner defended his crown as the final act of Australian Open 2025.
There was obvious relief combined with euphoria, the Italian claimed his third Grand Slam title and 21st consecutive win on hard courts in the major arena.
The 23-year-old surpassed Nicola Pietrangeli as the first Italian man or woman to lift three Grand Slam singles titles.
Arms aloft, Jannik Sinner defended his crown as the final act of Australian Open 2025.
There was obvious relief combined with euphoria, the Italian claimed his third Grand Slam title and 21st consecutive win on hard courts in the major arena.
The fox simply outfoxed the whole pack all fortnight. Then, Jannik Sinner made a Grand Slam final look simple, almost routine, with a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 scoreline over world No.2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday night.
"It was an amazing performance from my side… All things considered, amazing run again here in Australia. I'm extremely happy. Sharing this with the team here and family and the people I love, it's amazing," stated Sinner, reflecting on the difference between winning a first and second time at Melbourne Park.
"Of course, you have maybe this little extra pressure and attention on your side, which you have to handle. But in the other way, you know that you can do it because you've done it once.
"What I understood this time is every day is different. You have days where you might not feel 100 per cent. I think I've learned many things throughout one year, not watching about result, but how I am as a person and how I handle the situation on the court.
"Yeah, it is different, though. So I'm very happy to have it."
To rubber-stamp the world No.1's dominance, the top seed inflicted Zverev's first ever Grand Slam match without gaining a single break point.
The German, seeking his maiden major, yelled "Let's go" having fended off two early break points. It was a warning sign. At 4-3, Sinner sprinted corner-to-corner, reached a Zverev volley, to then scoop a forehand pass. That was the catalyst for the reigning champion to land the first telling blow.
Some 'Sinn-sational' anticipation at the net and Sinner had wrapped up the opener. Zverev, one of the world's most lethal servers, landed 81 per cent of first serves, but still lost the set.
Again, Zverev was in trouble down early break points, in turmoil on how to disrupt the Italian's stride. The No.2 seed did have some joy in more baseline exchanges, but Sinner began deploying the drop shot to perfection.
Deep in the second set, both players reached the heights of their game in a 21-shot rally. Sinner's drop shot, Zverev retrieved a lob, the German launched forward, before the top seed found the gap to arrow a backhand pass.
Neither competitor could shift the momentum significantly and a tie-break was on the cards. At 4-4 a Sinner forehand clipped the tape and cruelly dinked away from Zverev's reach. A crunching forehand down the line, a shake of his racket towards his team, Sinner was well and truly in command.
The world No.1 was simply too consistent, too relentless, grinding down the Zverev resolve to write more lines into the history tennis books.
The Sinner legacy is fast becoming a modern-day great alongside his rival Carlos Alcaraz. The 23-year-old is just the eighth man in the Open Era to win his first three major finals alongside Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, Gustavo Kuerten, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Alcaraz. On top of that, the Italian is the first man to defend their first Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in 2005-06.
The stats and accomplishments just keep on coming. Sinner has equalled the record for the most wins by a men's world No.1 in their first 50 matches at top of the pile. Sinner has tied Borg and Connors on 47, which is one more than Federer.
Sinner is in that elite company for a reason.
Saying that, the three-time major winner maintains he is driven to improve and extend his dominance over the Tour. Across the other majors, Sinner ruled the hard courts of the US Open in 2024, but his best Roland-Garros and Wimbledon runs have ended at the semi-finals. Time to rule clay and grass?
"It's for sure one thing I always think about, no? You have to be a complete player, not only one surface, but on also the other two," added Sinner.
"I believe last year was not a bad season at all on clay and also on grass. I can do better. Of course, on hard court I feel more comfortable. I think that we can see. But I take it as positive because on the other surfaces I still have to improve, I have to see how it works.
"I'm going to put a lot of energy in that, trying to find the right ways, and hopefully to go far also in the other Grand Slams who are not played on hard court. Then we see."
Prior to the trophy ceremony Sinner comforted a tearful Zverev. The German has now fallen short in three Grand Slam finals. The 27-year-old was very gracious in defeat, hailing Sinner as "now it's like he's prime Novak (Djokovic). It's so difficult to go through him," whilst signalling he's determined to taste major glory one day.
“In general, Jannik is better than me at the moment. It's as simple as that," said Zverev.
"I think I served better than Jannik, and everything else he does better. So at the end of the day he deserves to win. He's the best player on hard courts right now.
"I'm doing everything I can. I'm working as hard as I ever did. I think I'm doing all the right things off-court. I think I'm practicing the right things, but I lost in straight sets today. I mean, those are facts.
"I don't want to end my career as the best player of all time to never win a Grand Slam, that's for sure. I'll keep doing everything I can to lift one of those trophies."