After a fourth-round defeat to Alexander Zverev at the 2023 US Open, Jannik Sinner finished that season with a closing burst that included two wins against Novak Djokovic, two singles crowns and the Davis Cup title—all on hard courts. Entering 2024 as the world No. 4, the Italian soared to even greater heights by winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
An air of invincibility began to swirl around Sinner as he won seven hard-court titles last season. He swept the year's Grand Slams on cement by storming to his first US Open title, also winning three ATP Masters 1000s and the ATP Finals to finish the season as the runaway world No. 1. Such was Sinner's dominance in 2024 that his position atop the ATP rankings was guaranteed to hold up regardless of his performance as the defending champion this year in Melbourne.
Growing comfortable in his role as the man to beat on hard courts, Sinner made his Australian Open title defense look easy. Like last year in New York, he dropped just two sets in his trophy run.
The 23-year-old sealed his third major crown with a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against Zverev on Sunday, gaining a measure of revenge against the last man to beat him at a hard-court Slam. He did not face a break point in the final, underscoring the gulf between him and the world No. 2.
Now on a 21-match winning streak across the Australian Open and US Open, Sinner is the fifth player in the Open Era to win three consecutive hard-court majors—and the first since Djokovic in 2015-16.
Zverev's comments during the AO trophy ceremony underlined the seemingly unstoppable nature of Sinner's run.
"Congratulations to Jannik, you deserve it. You are the best player in the world by far," Zverev said. "I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today but you are just too good, it is as simple as that. Congratulations to you and your team, you really deserve it. You have done all the right things and there is nobody who deserves this trophy more."
After showing his quality on the court, Sinner showed more class after the match when he spoke encouraging words to Zverev both privately and during his trophy speech.
While Sinner is now the eighth man in the Open Era to win his first three Grand Slam finals, Zverev is the seventh to lose his first three, having previously come one set short at the 2020 US Open (vs. Dominic Thiem) and last year at Roland Garros (vs. Carlos Alcaraz).
While the German could not claim a set on Sunday, he was twice within two points of stealing the second frame. Sinner escaped 0-30 at 4-5 and 30-30 at 5-6, winning a show-stopping, 21-ball rally in the 12th game to ultimately force a tiebreak.
A slice of net-cord luck granted Sinner a late mini-break to lead 5-4 in the crucial breaker, and the Italian took full advantage by seeing the set home with an unreturned serve and a plus-one forehand winner. Sinner has now won 16 of his past 18 tiebreaks, including all four at this Australian Open.
The final set felt like a formality from there, and the Italian slammed the door with a business-like finish reminiscent of the Big 3.
Sinner is the fifth man to win three straight hard-court Grand Slams in the Open Era, joining Djokovic (who did it twice), Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe. Of the previous four, only Federer extended his streak beyond three; the Swiss won five consecutive hard-court majors from 2005-07.
At the 2025 US Open, Sinner will undoubtedly enter as the favorite to win his fourth in a row on the cement. The only question is whether he will add a Slam on another surface before then.
