Mats Wilander has identified what Jannik Sinner does ‘so much better’ than Alexander Zverev after the Australian Open final

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Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets to win his second consecutive Australian Open title.

It was another successful visit to Melbourne for Sinner in 2025, as he lifted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the second time.

Sinner beat Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, to win the trophy on Rod Laver Arena, taking home his third Major title at just 23 years of age.

It wasn’t quite the classic many had hoped for, with fans perhaps spoilt after Madison Keys’ thrilling win over Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final on Saturday.

Zverev couldn’t quite keep up with the world number one, as the Italian played some brilliant tennis throughout.

After the match one ATP Tour legend gave his thoughts on what made the difference in the Australian Open final.

Mats Wilander says Jannik Sinner’s speed is ‘so much better’ than Alexander Zverev’s

Speaking to Eurosport after the final, seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander revealed the big difference he’s noticed between Sinner and Zverev.

“He [Jannik Sinner] is proactive,” said Wilander.

“He takes the ball early.

“It feels like every shot he hits, he hits with a purpose and is always gaining ground whereas when you watch Sascha Zverev he hits a lot of shots which are just keeping the ball in play.”

The Swede went on to explain how Sinner was able to be so proactive during the Australian Open final.

“They hit the ball pretty much the same speed but Sinner is pretty much always being proactive and getting closer to the baseline and looking for the short ball and that’s the big difference.

“Why can he do that?

“Because his foot speed is so much better than Zverev’s.”

Sinner’s urgency to get forward and finish points can be seen in the number of winners he hit during the match compared to Zverev.

• Jannik Sinner – 32 Winners
• Alexander Zverev – 25 Winners

How big is the gap between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev?

Wilander has noticed a big difference in their games, but is there really much to sperate the world number one and two?

Following his win in Australia, Sinner’s gap at the top of the ATP rankings grew to over 3,000 points, a tough mountain for Zverev to climb.

Sinner has been dominant over the past 12 months on the ATP Tour, and has even started to turn the tide in his head-to-head with the German, who he once trailed 1-4.

The 23-year-old has now won his last two career-meetings with Zverev, in the Cincinnati semis, and in the final of the Australian Open, arguably the two biggest matches they’ve played.

Their meeting in Cincinnati was far closer than what we saw in Melbourne on Sunday, as there was very little to separate the pair in a three set thriller.

It remains to be seen what will happen the next time the pair face off, although Sinner will no doubt be hoping to level their head-to-head up at 4-4.

Their next meeting may be quite a while away, however, as the pair have very different schedules over the coming weeks.

Jannik Sinner’s next two tournaments

• Rotterdam (ATP 500)
• Doha (ATP 500)

Alexander Zverev’s next two tournaments

• Buenos Aires (ATP 250)
• Rio (ATP 500)

While Zverev heads to South America to play in the clay ‘Golden swing’, Sinner will participate in two ATP 500 tournaments on the hard-courts, where he has been so strong in recent times.

Sinner will return to action in Rotterdam on February 3, with Zverev getting back to it a week later in Argentina, on February 10.