Jannick Sinner targets a second successive Australian Open title as he faces Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s men’s final.
Who: Jannik Sinner vs Alexander Zverev
What: Australian Open men’s singles final
Where: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
When: Sunday, January 26 at 7:30pm (08:30 GMT)
Follow media’s live build-up before our text and photo stream of the match.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner will look to seal back-to-back Australian Open titles and deny second seed Alexander Zverev a maiden Grand Slam crown in the men’s final on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, the women’s doubles final sees top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend face Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
After a thrilling women’s final on Saturday, in which Madison Keys ended Aryna Sabalenka’s two-year reign as Australian Open champion, media focuses on what promises to be another blockbuster finale between the two top seeds.
A year after overhauling Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the 2024 final, Jannik Sinner will be favourite to win Sunday’s decider and become the first man to retain the title since Novak Djokovic’s “three-peat” from 2019-21.
Top seed Sinner would become the 11th man to go back-to-back in the professional era, joining the likes of Roger Federer (2006-07, 2017-18) and Andre Agassi (2000-01).
Having won the US Open last year, Sinner could also become the first Italian to win three Grand Slam titles, moving past his tie with Nicola Pietrangeli, a back-to-back winner of the men’s singles at Roland Garros (1959-60).
Sinner arrives in the final in top form, having won his last 20 matches.
He thrashed Australian number one Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals and also beat rising American talent Ben Shelton in straight sets in the semis.
Physically, though, it has not all been smooth sailing for the 23-year-old, who suffered a cramp against Shelton and had dizzy spells on a hot day during his four-set win over Holger Rune in the fourth round.
With a maximum 27 degrees Celsius (81 F) forecast on Sunday, Sinner may be relieved that the match is scheduled in the evening cool.
His run to the final has come while a longstanding doping case stemming from failed drug tests last March hangs over his head.
Though cleared to play by tennis’s integrity authority, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking a ban of up to two years for the Italian at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The hearing is set for April.
Sinner has so far proved impervious to external distractions, though, and the extra weight of being defending champion.
“I’m trying to take the things away in my head, the pressure,” he said. “Even if it’s easy to say, but difficult to do.
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