It’s rare for a player to win their first Grand Slam title and then successfully defend it the next year. That’s what Jannik Sinner will try to do on Sunday when he faces Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final.
The last time this happened was nearly 20 years ago, when Rafael Nadal won back-to-back French Open titles in 2005 and 2006. He turned out just fine.
For Sinner, who is ranked No. 1, the past year included an unresolved doping case. He tested positive for a small amount of an anabolic steroid twice in March, and the news wasn’t made public until he was cleared just before the U.S. Open, which he went on to win. There will be a hearing for the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal in April.
“He finds playing tennis matches to be his safe place. That’s where he can go and do his thing and feel like this is what he knows, this is what he understands, what is what he’s good at. It becomes a home for him to step on to the court and play tennis,” said Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s two coaches, who will leave the team after this season.
“There’s been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months, since April last year. He deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure,” Cahill said. “He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side. … He has a clear conscience.”
During the two weeks in Australia, Sinner also had some health issues. He needed medical help when he felt dizzy and had an upset stomach during his fourth-round win over No. 13 Holger Rune. He also had cramps during his semifinal win over No. 21 Ben Shelton.
“There’s a lot of things going on, on and off the court. I try to isolate myself a little bit, trying to be myself on the court. Sometimes it’s a bit easier.
There are days where it’s easier, days where I struggle a little bit more,” said Sinner, the 23-year-old Italian who can become the youngest man to win consecutive Australian Open titles since Jim Courier in 1992-93.
“I’m just happy to put myself in this position again,” Sinner said, “to play for a big trophy again.”
Zverev appreciated Sinner
His opponent is No. 2 Zverev, a 27-year-old from Germany who is 0-2 in major finals. He lost both in five sets — to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 U.S. Open after leading by two sets and holding a match point, and to Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s French Open after leading two sets to one. Zverev reached the Australian Open final after Novak Djokovic retired from their semifinal match due to a leg injury after just one set.
This will be the first men’s Grand Slam final at Rod Laver Arena between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in 2019.
“Jannik has been the best player in the world for the past 12 months,” Zverev said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
That’s hard to argue with.
Sinner had a 73-6 record in 2024, winning eight titles, the most on the ATP Tour since 2016. He is currently on a 20-match winning streak that began late last season.
Sinner is favored in the match, with odds of -275 against Zverev, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
But don’t expect Sinner to talk about himself in glowing terms.
“Back of my head, I also know that I’m 23 years old, and I am not perfect, no? I know that I have things still to improve. I have certain areas where I can get better. That’s why we work,” Sinner said.
“Every day is a big challenge. Every day you have a different opponent. You try to understand what’s happening. Sometimes you have some issues and then trying to understand that whatever works best for that day and trying to go for it.”
