Of all the praise bestowed on Jannik Sinner after he won his second consecutive Australian Open championship, and third Grand Slam title overall, nothing felt as significant as the comparison made by runner-up Alexander Zverev.

In total, Sinner has won 36 of his last 37 matches, his only defeat coming against Carlos Alcaraz in the final of October’s China Open.

Where does Australian Open champion rank compared to greats like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Pete Sampras?

A year after earning his first Grand Slam title at the same event, Sinner became the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1993.

Jannik Sinner played his first two Grand Slam finals last year and won both of them, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final and Taylor Fritz in the US Open final. Tonight he did it again, outdoing Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3, to capture his second straight Australian Open title.

Sinner, 23, becomes the second-youngest man to win consecutive Australian Open singles titles, behind Jim Courier, who was 22. Additionally, Sinner is now the fifth man to win three consecutive hard-court Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.

Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open men's singles title on Sunday, beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets to seal career Grand Slam title number three.

Alexander Zverev described himself as “quite down” and “quite emotional" after once again coming within one win of earning his first Grand Slam title. And unlike his first two defeats in major finals — both of which he led,

Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open crown with a near-flawless display in the men's final Sunday, defeating second seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his third career Grand Slam title.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on Sunday to win the Australian Open for the second straight year. Sinner is the first Italian to win three Grand Slams, as he also won the 2024 US Open.

Alexander Zverev has said that Jannik Sinner is "very similar" to Novak Djokovic after he was defeated by the Italian in the Australian Open final.