The men's 2025 Australian Open final sees reigning champion Jannik Sinner take on Alexander Zverev, who will be hoping that this will be the moment he breaks his Grand Slam duck.
World number one Sinner has made serene progress in his title defence, dropping just two sets on his way to the final and it will take a huge effort to stop him from lifting the trophy for the second year in a row.
German Zverev, up to second in the world, has also dropped just two sets and he had an easier time of things in his semifinal clash following Novak Djokovic's retirement after the first set.
Sinner is the firm -274 favorite to win this clash, but given Zverev leads the head-to-head against his Italian foe 4-2, this could turn out to be a closer battle than the odds suggest.
Sinner was the man of the moment in 2024, landing his maiden Grand Slam at the 2024 Australian Open when coming from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
A run to the semifinals of the French Open and a quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon came in the next two majors, before the Italian then clinched the US Open at Flushing Meadows with a straight sets victory over Taylor Fritz.
Along with those two prestigious titles, the 23-year-old also added six more trophies to his collection last year, including the season-ending ATP Tour finals in Italy.
Boasting a win-loss record of 73-6 in 2024, the question was whether Sinner could maintain those levels heading into the 2025 campaign, but he has provided the answer in resounding fashion.
Four of his six wins at Melbourne Park have been in straight-sets, including his last two matches, and he just seems to be getting better and better as the tournament goes on.
Sinner hasn't lost in the Australian Open since a fourth-round exit to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2023 and he has swiftly become a dominant force in this event, highlighting his affinity for hardcourts.
It will take a huge effort for anyone to stop the Italian and the player looking to do just that is Zverev, who is appearing in his third Grand Slam final and first since the 2024 French Open.
The German failed to get over the line in his two final appearances, giving up a two-set lead in the 2020 US Open final to lose 3-2 to Dominic Thiem and suffering a 3-2 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Paris last year when 2-1 ahead in sets.
Questions continue to be asked about Zverev's mental strength when it comes to the biggest matches and, until he lifts a major trophy, there will always be this seed of doubt about his ability to hold his nerve.
The German has managed to get the better of Sinner four times, with two of those coming at the US Open in 2021 and 2023, but he did lose the last meeting in the semifinal of Cincinnati Masters in 2024.
These two have pushed each other hard in their six clashes, in particular in the last Grand Slam meeting at Flushing Meadows in 2023 when 46 games were played.
While both players have been relatively unfazed Down Under, Zverev's quarterfinal win over Tommy Paul had 41 games in it and it would be no surprise to see these two put on a show in the final.
Expect this to be a tight contest that Sinner will have the quality to come through in.
Given that this is expected to be an intense battle, there looks to be plenty of scope for tie breaks in the match and the +275 available on there being at least two is hard to ignore.
There were two tiebreaks the last time these two met, while there has been at least one tiebreak in three of the other five meetings.
Sinner had to come through two tiebreaks in his opener and one in his semifinal tie, while Zverev had two in his quarterfinal and one in the semifinal against Djokovic, a match that was cut short after just one set.
Expect both players to keep things tight on their serve before tiebreaks are required.
Jannik Sinner | -274 |
Alexander Zverev | +225 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.