Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev to win the Australian Open for the second year in a row, as the World No 1 added a third grand slam singles title with a 6-3 7-6 6-3 victory to deny the German his first major.
Sinner, 23, produced a dominant display to defend his crown in Melbourne, claiming a 21st consecutive win at the hard-court grand slams after winning both the Australian Open and US Open last season.
Zverev now has three defeats in his three appearances in grand slam finals. The 27-year-old second seed could not hide his frustration as Sinner won the crucial second-set tiebreak, with the Italian earning a fortunate net-cord on 4-4.
Once firmly ahead, Sinner pressed home his advantage. His serving was meticulous and Sinner did not face a single break point as he closed out a ruthless victory to become the first Italian to win three grand slam singles titles.
“Congratulations to Jannik, you deserve it,” Zverev said. “You are the best player in the world by far. I was hoping to be more competitive today but you are too good, it’s as simple as that.” A despondent Zverev also questioned if he was “good enough” to win a first grand slam.