MELBOURNE, Australia -- There was an air of confidence surrounding Jannik Sinner as he marched out to Rod Laver Arena for Sunday's Australian Open final against familiar foe Alexander Zverev. He stood tall; his head held high. He strode calmly but with purpose, appearing to have the self-assurance of a man who already knew how the upcoming 2¾ hours would unfold.
From the moment Sinner touched down in Melbourne a little over two weeks ago, it had felt almost inevitable he would defend his crown. This cool and collected, almost emotionless demeanour was evident throughout the tournament as he brushed challengers aside with relative ease, showcasing the jaw-dropping skill, athleticism and hunger that had led to him rocketing to the top of the ATP's world rankings in June last year.
Sinner ended the Australian Open in the exact manner he had started it, slapping a ball straight through the defences of a helpless opponent. Sinner powered his way past Zverev to a dominant 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory and back-to-back triumphs at Melbourne Park.
"It was an amazing performance from my side. Very high quality," Sinner said after raising his third major trophy. "[As the favourite] you have maybe this little extra pressure and attention on your side, which you have to handle. But you know that you can do it because you've done it once. I'm extremely happy."
Sinner wasted no time stamping his authority on Sunday's title match. The very first point, he belted an ace straight down the 'T.' 15-0. The next, another one down the middle of the service box that Zverev barely jammed his racket down on. 30-0. Then a changeup, a wide serve, but yielding the exact same result. 40-0. Zverev would get the fourth serve he faced back in play, only for Sinner to hit an unreturnable backhand laser down the line. Game, Sinner. In 90 seconds, he had sent the most ominous of warnings to the second-best tennis player on the planet.
Just as he had done on his path to the final, against Zverev, Sinner showcased his ability to play as a human brick wall, sending everything back over the net with video game-like accuracy and error-free discipline. Of all the players to reach the second week of the tournament, nobody committed unforced errors at a lower rate than Sinner. In the final, he made 27, almost half of Zverev's tally.
Sinner perfectly straddled the line of patience and aggression, knowing when to retreat in defense and then when to up the ante with his powerful ballstriking. He mastered his changeup, like a great baseball pitcher, switching between hammering that deep, flat shot a hair over the net to his looped forehand, laced with topspin that zipped off the court. No matter the shot, Sinner routinely targeted the Zverev forehand, his weaker wing, forcing him to play a game he did not want to play. The longer the rallies went, the more it favoured Sinner, who won 67% of points that featured at least nine shots.
In the few pressure points Sinner faced, he also lifted to meet the moment. Down 5-4, 30-0 in the second set, Sinner produced a trio of unreturnable first serves to navigate out of trouble. Fifteen minutes later, he held his nerve to win the 16th tiebreak from his last 18. But the most mind-boggling statistic from the match was that Sinner never faced a break point. It was the type of relentless tennis that continued to grind down and demoralize Zverev until the world No. 2 first appeared defeated, then was defeated.
"I entered the court trying to be quite aggressive in the beginning, this gave me the confidence that I feel the ball in a certain way," explained Sinner. "It's [about] trying to stay always there mentally, trying to play every point in the best possible way. How I handled every situation on the court -- not only today in the final but in general -- was nice."
Sinner did much more than just win his third major title on Sunday evening. His victory over Zverev capped yet another scintillating fortnight for the Italian on the Grand Slam stage and cemented him as a modern-day titan on the hard court. It also confirmed that tennis has firmly transitioned into his era on the surface.
"He's the best player on hard courts right now. It's as simple as that," conceded Zverev after losing his third Grand Slam final. "He completely outplayed me. I was hoping I could be more of a competitor today, but you're just too good. It's as simple as that. There's nobody that deserves this trophy more."
There will be those who argue the sport will live in the Novak Djokovic era until the day the 24-time major champion decides to hang up the racket, but it's become evident Sinner has now left the Serbian star behind and is quickly trending toward being peerless on the hard courts.
Since Djokovic last prevailed at a Grand Slam, the 2023 US Open, Sinner has beaten him in all three matchups and put together a résumé that would rival many in tennis's Hall of Fame. He has won the Australian Open twice, won the US Open, won the ATP Finals, collected more wins than anyone else on tour, won over $20 million in prize money, and held the world No. 1 ranking for 33 weeks. He is still just 23 years of age.
Sinner's latest title in Australia made him just the fifth man in tennis history to win three consecutive Grand Slams on the hard court, joining Djokovic, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe. He has won 19 career tour-level titles, 17 of them coming on hard courts. He has lost just three hard court matches in the past 14 months.
Some will feel it's fitting that it's Sinner seemingly snatching the torch from Djokovic, given there are many stylistic similarities between the two. Much like Madison Keys with Aryna Sabalenka 24 hours earlier, Sinner had "looked up to him" and done his best job emulating many of Djokovic's otherworldly gifts that have led the 37-year-old to a record 10 titles at Melbourne Park, and among the greatest tennis résumés ever constructed.
"He does everything better," Zverev said of Sinner. "He moves better than me. He hits his forehand better than me. He hits his backhand better than me. He returns better than me. He volleys better than me. He's very similar to Novak when he was at his best. They barely miss. It's very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them. They're constantly on the baseline. They don't give you any space. They don't give you any time. The facts speak for themselves, he's in a different universe right now to anyone else."
Much like Djokovic, Sinner never allowed anyone a moment to settle. He never allowed anyone to take control, never allowed anyone to realistically dream they could be the one to dethrone him. It was as if he knew the only person on the planet capable of preventing him from lifting the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the second time in 13 months was himself.
The question for Sinner now, as he looks to continue building his legacy, is whether he can translate his hard-court success onto tennis' other surfaces.
Sinner is yet to reach a final at either the French Open or Wimbledon, which frankly, given his prowess at the sport's other two majors, seems like an anomaly that is destined to change sooner rather than later. His game is so well suited to the speed of a hard court but there's no reason he cannot enjoy success on clay or grass, or both.
"It's for sure one thing I always think about," Sinner said when questioned on whether he has what it takes to succeed away from the hard-court majors. "Of course, on hard court I feel more comfortable. I think we can see this. But I take it as a positive because on the other surfaces I still have to improve.
"I'm going to put a lot of energy into that, trying to find the right ways. I'm still young and I think I have time to adjust. It's exactly what I like, the difficulties trying to understand where I can improve. Hopefully I can show that. You have to be a complete player."