Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open crown as he downed Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

The world number one displayed ruthless efficiency to triumph 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 and claim his third grand slam crown on Sunday.

Sinner set the tone from the off, and did not offer up a single break point in a dominant performance befitting of his status as the world's best.

In the first meeting between the ATP's world number one and two in an Australian Open final since 2019, Sinner made a statement in an impeccable opening set. 

After saving four break points, Zverev could not claw back a fifth, enabling Sinner to go ahead 5-3 before holding to love to take the lead.

Zverev got away with one when he very nearly sent a volley long to fend off a first break point in game three of set two, though he made a firmer connection with a similar shot to force deuce, and then holding when Sinner failed to beat the net from a tight angle.

Sinner sparked some concern when he clutched his left hamstring after failing to keep a lob in play, though he showed little sign of injury as he comfortably held in the next game.

He then came out on top of a thrilling, 21-shot rally on the way to forcing a tiebreak, in which Sinner got a huge stroke of luck when a weak forehand clipped the net cord and spun out of Zverev's reach – the favourite taking full advantage to serve out the set.

That left Zverev lashing his racquet onto the court in frustration, and though the German responded well at the start of the third, playing a particularly venomous forehand during Sinner's second service game, he could not force a breakthrough.

A lapse in focus saw Zverev drill into the net in game six, and hand Sinner his first break point. It was saved by an exceptional backhand winner, but the second was gobbled up by the top seed when a forehand went long.

From 40-15 down against serve, Zverev did brilliantly to come back to deuce, but some blistering efforts got Sinner back on track and to within a game of victory.

Zverev held well, but in the next game, a forehand went wide to hand Sinner his big moment.

It was taken in style. Sinner lured Zverev towards the net with a perfectly executed drop shot, and though it was returned, the 23-year-old nailed a backhand into the empty side of the court to seal back-to-back titles at Melbourne Park.

Sinner at his sublime best

Sinner was imperious. Even if he only took two of 10 break points, to not offer up a single one going the other way, in a major final, is remarkable.

In the past 35 years, it had only been done by three other men: Pete Sampras (Wimbledon 1995), Roger Federer (Wimbledon 2003) and Rafael Nadal (US Open 2017).

The 23-year-old also became the youngest man to win back-to-back titles at the Australian Open since Jim Courier, in 1992 and 1993.

Sinner is the fifth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive grand slams on hard courts. He is the youngest player to do so since 1988, when the Australian Open switched to Melbourne Park.

He has equalled Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors for the most wins in their first 50 matches as the ATP's world number one, on 47.

At 94% (47-3), Sinner has the best win rate of any player while ranked as number one.

Sinner is also the first player to claim 10 consecutive straight sets wins over ATP top 10 opponents since the rankings were published in 1973.

He has claimed a 21st consecutive Tour-level match win, extending what is currently the longest winning streak of his career, and the longest of any Italian in the Open Era.

Will Zverev ever get over the line?

It was not to be for Zverev, who did not fall far behind Sinner for winners (25 to 32), but did make 45 unforced errors.

He has now lost all three major finals he has appeared in. With a 107-36 record, Zverev has a 74.8% win ratio at the grand slams.

That is the best win percentage of any man not to win a major title in the Open Era (minimum 10 matches played).

The 27-year-old is now 1-9 against top-10 opponents after losing the first set at a grand slam, though, with his only such win coming against Casper Ruud at last year's French Open.

He has been on the wrong end of only the fourth grand slam final since 1973, when the ATP rankings were published, to feature a straight sets win for the world number one over the world number two.