Tennis

Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3, in the Australian Open final, becoming the first repeat men's champion since Novak Djokovic (2020-2021).

The top-ranked Italian has dominated the rest of the tour, particularly on the hard-court surface over the last year, where he has won 53 of his last 56 matches.

For his efforts, Sinner takes home $3,500,000—up more than $1,000,000 from a year ago. Meanwhile, Zverev takes home $1,900,000 after reaching his first Australian Open.

Sinner's win over Zverev was never in question. The World No. 1 was extremely effective from his first serve, where he won 84 percent of points while remaining ultra-consistent with just 27 unforced errors.

Sinner joins 29-year-old Madison Keys, the champion in the women's singles draw, who also takes home $3,500,000, while the runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka, takes home $1,900,000.

Sabalenka entered the final as the overwhelming favorite, looking to become just the seventh woman in the Open Era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.

However, it was Keys who stunningly triumphed in three sets, winning her maiden Grand Slam—nearly eight years removed from reaching the U.S. Open Final (2017).

Both Sinner and Keys will look to extend their dominant start to the 2025 season when the French Open rolls around on May 25.

Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open crown, beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in Sunday's men's singles final.

This continues a dominant run from the 23-year-old. The Associated Press' Howard Fendrich noted Sinner is 80-6 since the start of last season, a stretch that includes three Grand Slam triumphs and a win in the year-end ATP Finals.

Sinner appeared to be looking a bit vulnerable into the third set of his semifinal win over Ben Shelton. He began to experience some cramping and was visibly wincing at times.

Unfortunately for Zverev, his opponent had no such issues Sunday. Sinner combined power with metronomic consistency for what was an unstoppable pair.

The Italian won 84 percent of his first-service points and collected six aces. He didn't allow Zverev to have a single break-point opportunity. Sinner also had 32 winners and 27 unforced errors to 25 and 45 respectively for Zverev.

No sequence summed up the match better than when Sinner was serving at 30-30 down 5-6 in the second set. Zverev was two points away from getting a pivotal break and claiming the set.

Sinner had other plans, keeping the German on the defensive and working him around the court during the point. The end came when he hit a backhand passing shot down the line.

The two exchanged serve for the first five games of the third set until Sinner broke Zverev's serve to jump ahead 4-2 and it was academic from there.

A Grand Slam title remains elusive for Zverev, who's now 0-3 in major finals.

"It sucks standing here next to this thing (trophy) and not being able to touch it, I'll be honest," he said in his post-match interview on the court. "But congratulations to Jannik. You more than deserve it. You're the best player in the world by far. I was hoping that I could be more competitive today, but you're just too good. It's as simple as that."

Perhaps Zverev's breakthrough will come at the French Open, where he was a semifinalist in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before advancing to the final and losing to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets last year.

Novak Djokovic evidently took exception to the boos he heard after retiring from his semifinal match at the Australian Open.

Djokovic shared a photo of an MRI of his left hamstring taken on Saturday, calling out "sports injury 'experts'" in the process.

The 37-year-old retired after dropping the first set against Alexander Zverev with a hamstring injury suffered in his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz. He was booed by the crowd in attendance and responded by giving them a sarcastic two thumbs up on his way to the exit.

Zverev even addressed the boos aimed at Djokovic during his on-court interview after the match.

Djokovic didn't provide any additional context about the MRI, but he told reporters after retiring it was a muscle tear:

"I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today, [but] towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment. I knew even if I won the first set it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don't think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried."

This was a contentious Australian Open for Djokovic. He refused to do on-court interviews until he received an apology from Channel 9 News and broadcaster Tony Jones for "insulting and offensive comments" made by Jones on the air.

Jones heckled Djokovic fans during a Jan. 17 broadcast by mocking their chants with "Novak is overrated" and a "has-been."

Both parties issued apologies on Jan. 19, with Jones offering his during a news broadcast by saying he considered it to be an attempt at "humor" that missed the mark:

"Having said that, I was made aware on Saturday morning, from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp, that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them—this was 48 hours ago—for any disrespect that Novak felt, that I had caused. And as I stand here now, I can only stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does."

The injury extended Djokovic's streak of consecutive grand slam tournaments without a win to five. It's his longest streak without winning at least one of the four major ATP events since 2016 to '18 (eight).

It's unclear how much time Djokovic might miss as a result of the injury. The French Open is the next grand slam on the calendar, but that doesn't start until May 25.

Madison Keys won her first grand slam title at the 2025 Australian Open, defeating No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday.

Keys beat Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a three-set thriller that saw no break points in the final set through the first 11 games.

The match couldn't have started better for Keys, who broke Sabalenka's serve in the very first game. Sabalenka made a small run late in the opening set to get within 5-3, but Keys got another break in the ninth game to take the first set.

Sabalenka's return game got her back in the match in the second set. The defending two-time Australian Open champ got two break points, including one on a double break when Keys started to have some issues with her serve.

The third set was the definition of a back-and-forth battle with each player holding serve until the final game. Keys, who dropped the first two points in the 11th game, took a 6-5 lead with two forehand winners that hugged the line but stayed in.

Sabalenka's best serve of the match come as Keys had a double-match point opportunity, but she couldn't keep the positive momentum going when Keys hit her forehand winner to secure the championship.

Keys had an incredible run throughout the tournament that saw her defeat five seeded players, including four in the top 10 and each of the top two seeds. She was also on the verge of elimination in the semifinal against Iga Świątek but was able to save match point.

Keys is just the third American women's player to win a grand slam tournament since 2020, joining Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open) and Coco Gauff (2023 U.S. Open).

This was just the second appearance in a grand slam final for Keys. She lost to Sloane Stephens at the 2017 U.S. Open. The 29-year-old did reach the semifinals in the big four tournaments a total of four times since that loss, most recently at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Keys has now won back-to-back tournaments to start the year. She came into the Australian Open fresh off a victory at the Adelaide International. This marks her first time winning two tournaments in the same calendar year since 2019.

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will meet in the 2025 Australian Open men's singles final.

The top two seeds in the draw advanced to Sunday's championship match in two different fashions on Friday in Melbourne.

Sinner produced a straight-set win over Ben Shelton, while Zverev needed just one set to get past Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic retired from the match once the first-set tiebreak ended. He was dealing with a muscle tear that he suffered in his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz.

Friday Results

No. 1 Jannik Sinner def. No. 21 Ben Shelton, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2

No. 2 Alexander Zverev def. No. 7 Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (5) (retired)

Sinner was the only one of the two Australian Open finalists to play a full match on Friday.

However, the top-seeded Italian shouldn't be at a significant disadvantage in rest compared to Zverev since he won in straight sets.

Sinner was pushed into a first-set tiebreak by Shelton and then cruised in the second and third sets, where he lost just four games.

The reigning Australian Open champion has gotten better throughout the tournament. He produced consecutive three-set victories in the quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Alex De Minaur and on Friday versus the 21st-seeded Shelton.

Zverev appeared to be in for a long fight with Djokovic inside Rod Laver Arena.

The first set between the Nos. 2 and 7 seeds lasted 82 minutes, but the match ended abruptly once Zverev captured the first set through a tiebreak.

Djokovic, who did not practice between his quarterfinal and semifinal matches, was dealing with too much pain and had to withdraw.

Zverev qualified for his third Grand Slam final. He is 0-2 in the previous two finals. He was ahead in both of them before losing the fourth and fifth sets.

Sinner is 2-0 in his two Grand Slam finals. He rallied from a two-set deficit to beat Daniil Medvedev last year in Australia and he beat Taylor Fritz in straight sets to win the 2024 U.S. Open.

Zverev holds a 4-2 head-to-head advantage over Sinner. That record includes a 2-1 mark in favor of Zverev at majors, with both wins coming on hard court at the U.S. Open in 2021 and 2023.

Novak Djokovic retired due to injury after losing the first set to Alexander Zverev 7-6 (5) in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday.

Zverev and Djokovic played an 80-minute set. After Zverev won set point, Djokovic met him at the net and retired.

Djokovic disclosed he was playing through a muscle tear in his left leg.

"I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had," Djokovic told reporters. "Medications and the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today, [but] towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment.

"I knew even if I won the first set it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don't think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried."

Zverev advances to the Australian Open final in the men's draw and will face the winner of Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton.

Djokovic, who is searching for his 25th Grand Slam singles win, had just beaten Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals a few days prior.

During that four-set win, Djokovic had an injury timeout to have his left leg wrapped late in the first set, which he lost 4-6. He stormed back to take the next three sets: 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

After the match, Djokovic had concerns about how he'd fare against Zverev.

"The extra day with no match comes at a good time," Djokovic said, per an ATP Tour article. "I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up. I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, the next few days. Probably skip training tomorrow. I'll see if I'm going to train in two days or not.

"I'll take it day by day. Now it's really about recovery. I'm concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I'm as motivated as I can be."

Against Zverev, Djokovic was seen laboring at times during the match. His upper left leg was heavily wrapped.

Djokovic and Zverev played a tremendous first set that ended with the former player unusually dumping an unforced error into the net when he had the court wide open for a winner. It was clear something was off.

Per SportsCenter, this marks the first time Djokovic has retired following the first set of a major match for the first time ever.

Boos reigned down at Rod Laver Arena following the medical retirement. Afterward, Zverev stuck up for his opponent.

With that, Zverev has now moved on in search of his first-ever Grand Slam singles final.

Madison Keys advanced to her second-career Grand Slam final with an epic upset of No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Australian Open.

The 19th-seeded American battled back from a set down and won the match in a tight third-set tiebreak.

Keys' path to her first Grand Slam title doesn't get any easier, as she'll face top seed and two-time reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.

Sabalenka made light work of yet another match in Melbourne on Thursday by taking down Paula Badosa in straight sets.

Thursday's Results

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 11 Paula Badosa, 6-4, 6-2

No. 19 Madison Keys def. No. 2 Iga Swiatek, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8)

Many expected Sabalenka and Swiatek, the top two seeds in the women's singles draw, to face off in the final.

However, Keys disrupted those plans with an incredible come-from-behind win inside Rod Laver Arena.

Keys lost the first set, but then rallied back in tremendous fashion to win six of the seven games in the second set.

The third set was jam-packed drama and incredible shot-making from both Keys and Swiatek.

Keys forced her way into a third-set tiebreak and then took control with a remarkable comeback. She won four of the final five tiebreak points to finish off the victory.

Keys is into her first Grand Slam final since the 2017 U.S. Open. She has been a regular on the second weekend of majors with 11 quarterfinal appearances, but it's been difficult for her to get into championship matches.

On Saturday, Keys faces the toughest test of them all in Melbourne against Sabalenka, who has not lost at the Australian Open since 2022.

Sabalenka picked up her fifth straight-set win in six matches with her semifinal triumph over Paula Badosa.

The No. 1 seed has been one of the best hard-court players in tennis over the last four years.

Sabalenka reached the final at the last three Australian Opens and last two U.S. Opens. She also advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open in 2021 and 2022.

The No. 1 seed owns a 4-1 head-to-head edge over Keys. She's won both matchups at Grand Slams.

However, Keys does have some hope going into the final. She swept the first set against Sabalenka at the 2023 U.S. Open before Sabalenka came back to win the match through a pair of set tiebreaks.