Melbourne, Australia – There are all kinds of ways beyond the score to measure how well Jannik sinner was outpacing and frustrating Alexander Zverev During the victory 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 Australian Open championship.
Zero breakpoints faced the glitch. Or the 10th he accumulated. The 27-13 advantage in points that lasted at least nine shots. Or the way the sinner racked up more winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45. The way the sinner won 10 of the 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 range.
Well, here’s another proof: what Zverev said about Sinner.
“I serve better than him, but that’s it. He does everything else better than me. He moves better than me. He hits his forehand better than me. He hits his backhand better than me. He comes back better than me. He flew better than me,” Zverev said. “At the end of the day, tennis has five or six massive shots – like, massive factors – and he does four or five better than me. That’s why he won.
High praise from a guy who, after all, ranked No. 2. Sinner has held the No. 1 spot since last June and shows no signs of giving up. This was the first Australian open final between the men at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat No. 2 Rafael Nadal – also in straight sets.
“It’s amazing,” Sinner said, “to achieve these things.”
The “things” include 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 his first Grand slam Title by repeating champion of the same tournament a year later.
One sinner was later asked if he felt more relief or excitement when he raised his arms after the last stitch.
“This one was joy. We managed to do something incredible this time, because the situation I found myself in was completely different from a year ago here,” he said. “I had more pressure.”
Probably true, but it’s hard to say.
Go to early 2024 and take stock. In that span, Sinner has won three of five majors, including the US Open in September, meaning he has now claimed three consecutive Slams. His record is 80-6 with nine titles. His current undefeated run spans 21 games.
“There is always something that can improve,” said one of his two coaches, Simone Vagnozzi. “He is playing very well at the moment and everything is coming easily. But there will be difficult times ahead.
The only thing that has darkened the last 12 months for Sinner, it seems, is the case of doping in which his exoneration was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace of an anabolic steroid twice last March, but blamed it on accidental exposure involving two members of his team who have since been fired. The Sinner was first licensed in August; A hear in WADA’s appeal is scheduled for April.
“I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind about what happened,” Sinner said on Sunday. “I know if I was guilty, I wouldn’t play like that.”
While he became the eighth man in the Open Era (which began in 1968) to start his career 3–0 in a Grand Slam final, Zverev is seventh at 0-3adding this loss to those of the 2020 US Open and last year’s French Open.
Those earlier losses both came in five sets. This contest wasn’t that close. No way.
“I will continue to do everything I can,” Zverev said, “to lift one of these trophies.”
Just before Zverev started to speak Into a microphone during the trophy ceremony, a voice shouted from the stands, referring to two of the player’s ex-girlfriends who accused of physical violence.
During the match, there was really only one moment that contained a hint of tension. It came when Zverev was two points away from possession of the second set at 5-4, Love-30. But a breaking point – and a sectioning point – never came.
A year ago, Sinner had much more trouble winning his first major, needing to get past Novak Djokovic – who left a set in the semi-final against Zverev on Friday due to torn hamstring – before erase a straight-set deficit in the final Against 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
This time, the sinner applied pressure with a versatile style that didn’t really seem to have any holes.
He proved superior in every meaningful way other than aces, leaving Zverev shaking his head or moving around the sidelines with shoulders slumping or cracking his racket against the court or against another racket.
Perfectly understandable, given what the sinner can do to an opponent, especially on a hard court.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Zverev said. “He’s in a different universe right now.”
This article was originally published on NBCnews.com
