MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — 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.
Facing Sinner, particularly on hard courts, reminded Zverev a lot of trying to solve the challenge presented by none other than 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.
“He’s very, very similar to Novak when he was at his best. They barely miss. Like, barely miss. They make you think like you have to overhit all the time to have a chance in a rally against them,” Zverev said after losing to Sinner 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.
“It’s very, very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them — against Novak and him,” said Zverev, who is ranked No. 2 but felt much further away from No. 1 Sinner in Rod Laver Arena.