The Italian does not see himself as the clear favorite before the duel with world number two Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final.
Jannik Sinner does not see Alexander Zverev as the underdog in the final duel between the two tennis stars at the Australian Open. “He has played incredible tennis to get to the final. It’s hard to say who the favorite is because anything can happen,” said the world number one ahead of the highly anticipated match against the number two in the ATP rankings on Sunday.
“It will be a tough match for both of us, it will definitely be very physical,” Sinner continued. ”Of course the pressure is high, the expectations and the attention are huge, but at the end of the day it’s a tennis match – it has to be fun. It has to be something great.”
For both players, Sunday’s duel is their third Grand Slam final. While Zverev is still waiting for his first major title, Sinner has won both of his previous finals. It helps, the Italian said, to have already experienced something similar: “Finals are a bit different, very exciting days, but Sascha has also been in this situation before.”
Sinner dominated last year, especially at the end of the season, and marched confidently through the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Melbourne despite various physical problems. However, that doesn’t make him feel “unbeatable”: “I know I’ve put in a lot of work and I’m trying to stay calm and not take things for granted. I’m just well prepared, to be honest,” Sinner said.
Zverev has a positive record of 4-2 against Sinner in six matches. However, the Italian won the last meeting in 2024 in Cincinnati in three tight sets.
