Sinner beats Zverev in 3 sets for 2nd Australian Open title in a row

Associated Press

Melbourne: There's all sorts of ways beyond merely the score to measure just how dominant Jannik Sinner was while outplaying and frustrating Alexander Zverev during the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory Sunday that earned the 23-year-old Italian a second consecutive Australian Open championship. The zero break points Sinner faced. Or the 10 he accumulated. The 27-13 advantage in points that lasted at least nine strokes. Or the way Sinner accumulated more winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45.

The way Sinner won 10 of 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 reach. And here is one more bit of evidence: Listen to what Zverev told Sinner during the on-court trophy ceremony: “You're the best player in the world, by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today, but you're just too good. It's as simple as that.” That's coming from the guy who is ranked No. 2 behind Sinner, who has held the No. 1 spot since last June and is not showing any signs of relinquishing it.

This was the first Australian Open final between the men at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal also in straight sets. “It's amazing,” Sinner said, “to achieve these things.” That includes 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 up his first Grand Slam title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later.

Townsend and Siniakova win women's doubles

Taylor Townsend of the United States returned to the court on which her career first took flight, teaming with Katerina Siniakova to beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in the women's doubles final Sunday at the Australian Open.

“This is super-special to me,” Townsend said. "The last time I played on this court I was 15 and in 2012 I won the juniors here and that was the kick-start. “Honestly, being here is so special to me because this tournament was the beginning of me being able to live out my dream.” Top-seeded Townsend and Siniakova of the Czech Republic led 6-2, 5-3 and served for the match for the first time at 5-4 in the second set.

But third-seeded Hsieh and Ostapenko rallied to take the second set in a tie-break and to hold an early break in the third. Taylor and Siniakova were able to fall back on proven teamwork on crucial points. This was their third Grand Slam together: they won Wimbledon last year and reached the semifinals of the US Open. They were also able to exploit a hint of weakness on Hsieh's serve with Ostapenko at the net, breaking her four times in the match.