Jannik Sinner sweeps Alexander Zverev to defend Australian Open tennis title

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Jannik Sinner sniffed out and exploited weakness in Alexander Zverev like a starving predator, pouncing for a straight sets victory to defend his Australian Open title Sunday in Melbourne.

The top-ranked Italian did not face a break point in the 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory at Rod Laver Arena. Balls burst from his racket strings, while his second-ranked foe lost energy throughout the 2-hour, 42-minute match.

"We worked a lot to be in this position again," Sinner said of his team during the trophy presentation. "It's an amazing feeling to share this moment with all of you."

"It's amazing to achieve these things, but mostly to share this with [them]. It's an incredible tournament. For me it's the most special Grand Slam."

Sinner, who dropped just two sets through his seven matches in Melbourne, has now won each of his last 10 matches against Top 10 players in straight sets.

Zverev, who was searching for his first Grand Slam title, totaled 12 aces, compared to Sinner's six. But the German littered the court with 45 unforced errors against 25 winners.

"I was hoping that I would be more of a competitor today, but you are just too good," Zverev said to Sinner. "It's as simple as that. ... There is nobody that deserves this trophy more."

Sinner totaled 27 unforced errors and hit 32 winners. He also converted 2 of 10 break point opportunities.

Sinner and Zverev played an even, 46-minute first set, which included a 23-shot rally on Sinner's second serve. Sinner went on to break Zverev for the first time during a 9-minute, 6-second eighth game and held his final serve to take the opening set.

Neither Zverev nor Sinner faced a break point in a tight 72-minute second set, resulting in a tiebreaker. A frustrated Zverev smashed several rackets as he failed to gain traction. Sinner, who displayed pristine serving accuracy and never appeared flustered, won the tiebreak 7-4.

Tight tennis continued in the final set, with Zverev and Sinner holding through the first four games. Sinner again held in the fifth game and broke Zverev in the sixth to move within two points of the title. He denied Zverev of yet another break point opportunity in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead.

Zverev held in the next game, giving Sinner the chance to win the match on his final serve. The Italian unleashed a series of blistering forehands, an ace and two-handed backhands en route to championship point.

Sinner ended the match by swiping a backhand inches over the net, burring the return deep behind Zverev. Sinner, who earned $2.2 million for the victory, will remain the No. 1 player in the ATP rankings, followed by Zverev.

A record 1.2 million people attended matches at Melbourne Park for the 2025 Australian Open.