Australian Open reinforces status of current king of the court, while women’s game remains wide open

A crushing 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 victory for Italian Jannik Sinner over German Alexander Zverev in the men’s Australian Open final confirmed what has become increasingly obvious — the sport has a new top dog.

Sinner, the 23-year-old Italian, claimed his second successive Australian Open title and his third Grand Slam in all, including the 2024 US Open. He has won 37 of his last 38 matches on hard courts.

The way he dismantled the second-seeded 27-year-old Zverev, in his third Grand Slam final, was awe-inducing. These were supposedly the two best players in the world, but the gulf between them was as vast as the Australian outback.

Sinner’s return of serve was brilliant and his ability to turn defence into attack with one stinging shot off either wing was the difference.

Zverev cut a forlorn figure at the trophy presentation after his third loss in a Grand Slam final.

His words, in a gracious speech, were naturally soaked in disappointment but also tinged with an acceptance that maybe his dream of a major title would never be fulfilled.

Especially if you consider that Carlos Alcaraz, the winner of four Grand Slams already, is only 21 and there is a clutch of other top talents such as semifinalist Ben Shelton coming through.

“It really sucks standing this close to it and not being able to take it [the Norman Brookes trophy],” said Zverev.

“No one deserves this trophy more than Jannik. To my team: we’re trying to do all the right things but I’m just not good enough. Simple as that.”

It was an astonishing admission and naturally made while emotions were high. Yet there is some truth to it. Zverev, having been on the other side of the net and seeing the level at which Sinner performs, knows it.

Alexander Zverev cuts a forlorn figure during the men's singles final against Sinner. (Photo: Joel Carrett / EPA-EFE)

Completely outplayed

Zverev is clearly the best men’s player without a major, despite 23 ATP Tour titles and an Olympic gold medal - earned at Tokyo 2020.

He went deeper in his analysis of the differences between him and Sinner at his media conference about an hour later.

“Today he [Sinner] completely outplayed me. From the back of the court, completely outplayed me,” he said.

“As I said, I’m serving 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 returns better than me. He volleys better than me.

“At the end of the day, tennis has five or six massive shots, like massive factors, and he does four or five of them better than me. That’s the reason why he won.

“I don’t want to end my career as the best player of all time to never win a Grand Slam, that’s for sure.

“I'll keep doing everything I can to lift one of those trophies.”

The stats back up the notion that a fit Sinner is a cut above the rest — Alcaraz being the possible exception.

Zverev didn’t earn a single break point on Sinner’s serve while Sinner won his 10th successive match in straight sets against a top 10 opponent. That’s a new record since the Open era started in 1973.

Sinner has now won three of the last five Grand Slams and Alcaraz the other two. They are distancing themselves from the pack, yet Sinner believes he has a long way to go to fulfil his potential.

Improving

The Italian has made the semis at the French Open and Wimbledon but believes that to start his journey to being one of the sport’s greats, he needs to be better on clay and grass.

“You have to be a complete player, not only on one surface but on also the other two,” said Sinner.

“I believe last year wasn’t a bad season at all on clay and on grass. I can do better, yes, but let’s see. I mean, these are questions that I can answer by playing.

“I’m still young and I have time to adjust, especially on grass courts, because I’ve never played the juniors.”

Given that Sinner’s year might still include an appearance at the Court of Arbitration for Sport because the World Anti-Doping Agency is appealing a doping outcome against him, his focus has been impressive.

“It’s tough to describe. Many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know,” said Sinner.

“When I go on court, even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.

“That for me is even more important because I can talk with them very openly. When I go on to the court, I try and focus on the match. I know the match can be three, four, five hours, but that’s the gap of the day where I have to be very focused.

“In the gym, trying to keep your routine, then you think a bit less about what’s happening. Of course, it’s still a little bit in the back of your mind. I know that I’m in this position now. So [there’s] nothing I can change.”

Women’s game wide open

While the men’s game has its clear leading actors, the women’s game remains wide open.

Since 2020 there have been 11 different Grand Slam winners in the women’s section, with American Madison Keys becoming the latest addition to that list. In the same time, only six men have won Grand Slams.

Madison Keys of the US holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after winning the women's singles final. (Photo: Joel Carrett / EPA-EFE)

Nineteenth-seed Keys won her maiden Grand Slam when she overcame two-time defending Aussie Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in a superb final on Saturday.

She ended Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.

Keys will be 30 next month and had contested only one Grand Slam final previously — the 2017 US Open. Like Zverev, she had doubts that she would finally win a Grand Slam title.

“I think as I got older and I had gotten close and it didn’t happen, it kind of feels like, ‘Will this ever actually happen? If it doesn’t happen, I didn’t live up to what everyone told me I should have done’,” she said after her 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory over Sabalenka.

“I finally got to the point where I was personally low enough that I was like, I don’t really care if this helps me perform, I just want to feel better.

“I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.” DM