Melbourne [Australia], January 26 : Italian tennis star and world number one Jannik Sinner secured back-to-back Australian Open titles on Sunday, defeating Alexander Zverev in a hard-hitting title clash in Melbourne, becoming the first player from his country to secure three Grand Slam titles.
Sinner downed Zverev by 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in a two-hour, 42-minute final in which he did not face even a single break point. He managed to defend the title which he had won last year. While there were moments of genius from Zverev, as he came within two points of winning the second set his wait for a major title will continue further. Zverev faces a 0-3 loss record in Grand Slam finals. The world number two came close to becoming the fifth player from Germany to win a Grand Slam but left the court with many questions in his mind and tears in his eyes.
Sinner, after having won the Australian Open and US Open last year, is on a memorable 21-match winning streak at the hard-court Grand Slams. He is the fifth player in the Open Era to have won three successive Grand Slam titles, and the first since Novak Djokovic in 2015-16, as per ATP's official website. He restricted Zverev's attacking game and was imperious behind serve in the first set, winning 85 per cent of points behind his first delivery. This caused a loss of rhythm to Zverev who faced immense pressure even while delivering his technically sound and brilliant serves.
Speaking after the match, Sinner consoled Zverev, saying, "First of all, I would like to start with Sascha. Again a tough day for you, your whole team and your family. You have an incredible team behind you and are an amazing player. Keep believing in yourself as all the players and coaches know how strong you are as a player and person. Keep it up and keep working hard as we all believe you can lift one of these very soon."
Sinner also recalled how he has worked to be in this position and expressed how happy he is to lift the title with his team.
"I know Darren [Cahill] it is probably your last Australian Open as a coach and I am very, very happy to share this trophy with you. Everything started a little bit when I changed my combination of coaches and physio, I am very happy to have you all here."
Zverev on the other hand said, "It sucks standing next to this thing and not being able to touch it. Congratulations to Jannik, you deserve it. You are the best player in the world by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today but you are just too good, it is as simple as that. Congratulations to you and your team, you deserve it. You have done all the right things and there is nobody who deserves this trophy more."
"I want to thank my team. We are trying to do the right work, I am just not good enough. It is as simple as that. I appreciate what everyone has done for the past three years, back from my ankle injury to playing Grand Slam finals again. I really appreciate everything they have done and would not be here without them," he added.
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