Sinner vs Zverev: What to Know for the 2025 Australian Open Final

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning the match point against Ben Shelton of the United States in the Men's Singles Semifinal during day 13 of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Jan. 24, 2025. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The first tennis major of the year often creeps up on sports fans, as the Australian Open comes amid the NFL playoffs and now, the 12-team College Football Playoff. But the 2025 Australian Open final has arrived, and on the men’s side, it does not feature Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, which may surprise many. Instead, fans will be treated to the top two ranked players in the world, which is quite the consolation prize. World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, will face No. 2, Alexander Zverev, in a matchup of two Europeans with differing levels of success in Grand Slam finals.

Sinner already has two Grand Slams under his belt, including last year’s Aussie Open, in which he won as a 4-seed. That included defeating then-No. 1 Djokovic, ending the Serbian’s 33-match win streak at the Australian Open, in the semis before knocking off No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the final.

The Italian had a much easier route this year Down Under, facing just one top-10 seed and knocking off No. 21 Ben Shelton in the semifinals. Sinner has dropped just two sets in the tournament and won both his quarters and semis matches in straight sets.

The World No. 1 also claimed the 2024 U.S. Open as he became the youngest male player (23) ever to win two hard-court majors in a calendar season. Hard courts are his preference. Of his 18 singles titles, 16 have come on hard courts, and he’s won 24.6 percent of his events contested on hard surfaces.

Meanwhile, he’s won just 5.7 percent of his tournaments on grass and clay combined. But no matter the surface, Sinner always finds a way to be competitive at Grand Slams, as this is his fifth straight with at least a semifinal appearance.

As for Zverev, he turned pro a dozen years ago but is still searching for his first Grand Slam victory. He’s been close before, losing in two finals, but this is his first final appearance at the Australian Open, besting a pair of semifinal appearances (2020, 2024).

What he does have, however, is arguably even more coveted than a major victory, and that’s an Olympic gold medal. He claimed gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which should be noted that also came on a hard surface.

His route to the final Down Under was relatively smooth, never being pushed to five sets. He did, however, get a bit of a break in the semifinals as his opponent, Djokovic, retired due to injury after losing the first set, which was an 81-minute tiebreaker.

The German’s current No. 2 ranking matches his career-best, so he’s peaking heading into the Australian Open 2025 final.

While hard courts are Sinner’s specialty, Zverev is a bit more balanced as he’s won 12.6 percent of his tournaments contested on a hard surface, compared to 9.8 percent of events on clay or grass.

While being 0 for 35, all-time, in Grand Slam tournaments may weigh on his mind, he can take solace in his history against top-ranked players. Zverev has four victories over the World No. 1—three against Djokovic and one against Rafael Nadal—and it’s important to note that all four came on hard surfaces.

The 2025 Australian Open final will see two players who are quite familiar with one another, as this will be their seventh all-time meeting. They’ve faced off once in each of the last four years and met twice in 2020.

Sinner walks into the Aussie Open final with the better seed and ranking, but Zverev has the head-to-head advantage. The German is 4-2 versus Sinner, including a 3-1 record on hard courts. He’s also 2-1 against the Italian in Grand Slam matches, with those three all coincidentally coming in the Round of 16.

The pair’s last meeting did see Sinner prevail after five straight match losses to Zverev, as the former won in Aug. 2024 on a hard court at the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati.

Germany's Alexander Zverev during his semifinal match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Melbourne Park on Jan. 24, 2025. Edgar Su/Reuters

There’s much at stake for both players, with, obviously, Zverev aiming to get the monkey off his back with his first major win, and with Sinner hoping to become the 24^th man in the Open Era to reach three Grand Slam titles.

However, either winning would also garner them some favor in the public eye, considering each has had recent transgressions off the court.

Sinner received a doping sanction in March, and while it was then exonerated, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the ruling. He tested positive for a banned steroid, and WADA is seeking a suspension of 1-2 years, with the hearing for the appeal scheduled for April.

A victory would help silence the doubters who questioned his first two major wins, and it would give him a great start at repeating as the ATP Player of the Year after claiming that award for the first time in 2024.

With Zverev, his controversies are much more serious and don’t have anything to do with tennis. He has twice been accused of domestic abuse—by two separate women— with the second resulting in an out-of-court settlement between the parties in June 2024.

With those allegations out in the public and with no Grand Slams to his name, he’d simply like to generate headlines for his profession by winning Down Under.

The 2025 Australian Open Men’s Final will occur on Sunday. It will begin at 3:30 a.m. ET from Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.