2025 Australian Open men's final preview: Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev

Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev in the 2025 Australian Open final is a rare meeting between the Top 2 seeds at a Grand Slam event, but it’s also something of a surprise. While most people picked Sinner to make the final, fewer believed that Zverev would survive in a half that also included Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

But the Serb and the Spaniard ended up canceling each other out in the quarterfinals—Djokovic beat Alcaraz, while also injuring himself in the process. That left Djokovic unable to finish his semifinal with Zverev, and paved the way for the German to reach his first Australian Open final.

But if Zverev has been under the radar for the last two weeks, his presence on the final Sunday shouldn’t come as a shock. He earned his No. 2 seeding by having a consistent 2024, and making another major final, at Roland Garros. Of the original field of 128, Zverev may also have stood the best chance of knocking off the defending champion. He has a 4-2 career record against Sinner.

“I think Jannik has been the best player in the world for the past 12 months,” Zverev said when he was asked for his thoughts on facing him in the final. “There’s no doubt about it. Won two Grand Slams. Has been very, very stable in those regards.”

Sinner’s rise over that period was sparked, in part, by his five-set loss to Zverev at the 2023 US Open. That bitter late-night defeat led to a res-assessment of his game; a month later, the Italian began a long run of near-invincibility on hard courts, which he remains on today.

During that time, Sinner has proven himself on the biggest stages and against the best opponents. Yet he has done it, for the most part, without having to beat Zverev. They’ve played just once in the last 16 months, on fast hard courts in Cincinnati, and Sinner won by the closest scores imaginable, 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4).

Sinner, despite being asked whether he’s “unbeatable” in his post-semifinal press conference, doesn’t sound like he thinks he’s a clear favorite in the final.

“Of course, we played already sometimes; it’s going to be a tough match for both of us,” he says. “It’s going to be physical, for sure. Then we see, no

“I think he played some incredible tennis to go to the final. It’s tough to say whoever is the favorite in a way because everything can happen.”

Sinner and Zverev have each dropped two sets in their five matches, and each looked sharp in the semifinals. Sinner has had physical issues on a couple of occasions; he was dizzy against Holger Rune in the fourth round, and appeared briefly to be cramping in his semifinal with Ben Shelton. Each time he recovered quickly and never trailed.

It’s tough to say whoever is the favorite in a way because everything can happen. Jannik SInner on Australian Open final outlook

Zverev has been working hard for this occasion. Since his disappointing loss to Taylor Fritz at the US Open, he seems to have redoubled his efforts at improving his game at 27, and doing everything it takes to win his first major.

Sinner has the edge when it comes to groundstroke pace and first-strike capabilities. Zverev may have the edge in terms of consistency during long rallies. Their serves are both excellent. Sinner is the king of hard courts, but the slightly slower evening conditions in Rod Laver Arena may help Zverev.

Zverev is chasing his first Slam title, but Sinner already has two, and—as Zverev himself pointed out—he has shown an icy knack for coming through in clutch moments over the past year. Until Zverev does the same, I’ll take the guy who has lifted this trophy before. Winner: Sinner