Jannik Sinner wins Australian Open for second straight year - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — There's all sorts of ways beyond merely the score to measure just how dominant Jannik Sinner was while outplaying and frustrating Alexander Zverev during the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory Sunday that earned the 23-year-old Italian a second consecutive Australian Open championship.

The zero break points Sinner faced. Or the 10 he accumulated. The 27-13 advantage 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 that category, frequently zipping passing shots out of reach.

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

That's coming from the guy who is ranked No. 2 behind Sinner, who has held the No. 1 spot since last June and is not showing any signs of relinquishing it. 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 in a row 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 major tournaments, including the US Open in September, and