The men’s final of the Australian Open will pit the two best tennis players on the planet against each other: Jannik Sinner (1) against Alexander Zverev (2). The Italian followed in the footsteps of Zverev, who had earlier booked his place after Novak Djokovic retired.
Sinner, the winner by 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2, seems to be an unbeatable player even for a server like Ben Shelton, who manages to connect second serves at 216 kilometers per hour and forehands at 256 km/h. The American enjoyed a 2-0 lead and then a 6-5 lead in the opening set. He had two balls to take the lead, but did not convert them. The world No. 1 turned the match around and the semi-final changed.
There is going to be a lot of tension in the final
Jannik, the reigning champion of the Antipodean major, is on a roll in the battle for the title. He has won his last 20 matches. To find his most recent defeat, you have to go back to the final in Beijing with Carlos Alcaraz
The tennis player from San Candido, with some doubts in his shots at the beginning of the match, put in a gear that his rival could not follow. He broke in the first game of the continuation to the young Ben and headed towards his third ‘Grand Slam’ final. He won the previous two: Australian Open and US Open, in 2024
Shelton had to be treated on his right leg. His executioner was not very energetic either, as he made a bad gesture with his hip in the fifth game of the third set. The physio jumped onto the court to massage his legs. “I had cramps,” he said at the end.
Zverev and Sinner have met six times and the former dominates the head-to-head by four wins to two. At 23 years and 163 days, Sinner is the youngest to repeat appearance in the final of the Shanghai Masters since Jim Courier (1992 and 1993)
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