(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
After two-hours and 42-minutes of action in which time he strung together the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win, Sinner, the world No.1, pushed his head back and threw up his arms in celebration. In the first set, the 27-year-old, coming into the net, trying to unsettle the Italian, gave Sinner some target practice. The German trailed 15-40 in the fourth and eighth games, if the defending champion was sharpening his knife in the fourth game, he struck in the eighth and then went on to serve out the set at love in the ninth, closing with a 194 kmph ace. The German did well to push the set to tie-break, where Sinner came through with a slice of luck on the ninth point, the net cord working for him, and the world No.1 broke away to seal a two-sets-to-love lead. Get the latest WPL 2026 updates including WPL teams , full WPL 2026 schedule , and live scores for Mumbai Indians , Royal Challengers Bengaluru , UP Warriorz , Gujarat Giants , and Delhi Capitals .
Sinner, who hasn’t lost a set against top-ten opponents since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing in September, may not have played his best match in the final, but did enough to get through without facing a breakpoint. The roof over Rod Laver Arena was open and like the evening sky, that had lost some of its sparkle, Zverev, who looked to be in striking form as he advanced to the final at Melbourne Park, seemed to have lost some of the edge.
Sinner, now a two-time Australian Open champion, and a three-time major winner, placed the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup beside him as he spoke, said, “Talking about my team, what can I say? Jannik Sinner threw in a daring drop shot at match point, it came off his forehand side and was shaped with underspin. Alexander Zverev picked it up and didn’t place it too poorly, but Sinner stepped in and swung through the court to close out the Australian Open final. After the few seconds he had to himself, Rod Laver Arena on its feet, cheering him, Sinner looked at his team – coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, trainer and physio Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio – before going over to embrace them. We worked a lot to be again in this position. It’s an amazing feeling to share this moment with all of you. It is amazing to achieve these things, but mostly to share this with you guys. In the third set, Sinner broke in the sixth game, as a dejected Zverev appeared to throw in the towel. The Italian was out in the front and didn’t look back. Also check the latest WPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.