Jannik's back: Sinner successfully defends AO title

The German withstood early pressure on serve. In the seventh game on the sixth break point though, Sinner pounced and held to love on his third ace for the opening set.

Since 1973, the only player to beat the world No.1 after conceding the opening set in the men’s final was Andre Agassi against Pete Sampras in 1995. Zverev clearly had to conjure up something special.

Twice before he had gone the distance in a Grand Slam decider only to succumb – at the 2020 US Open to Dominic Thiem from two sets up and last year against Alcaraz at Roland Garros.

This was arguably the highest sustained level he had confronted of the three title matches.

Early in the second set, the signs were ominous. He was being outplayed from the back of the court, which briefly and unsuccessfully elicited more net approaches.

Still, he stayed the course and two points from levelling the match against the run of play at 6-5, Sinner ended the point of the match with a passing shot on the run to lift the crowd to its feet.

As the pair headed to a tiebreak, the reigning champion could draw confidence having claimed 15 of his past 17, including all three at this year’s Australian Open.

A little luck never went astray either. A net-cord winner from the top seed came at the most opportune time as it handed him the chance to serve for a two-set lead. He threaded the needle and clipped the line to close within a set of the finish line.