MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� Of all the praise bestowed on after he won his second consecutive championship, and third Grand Slam title overall, nothing felt as significant as the comparison made by runner-up .
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 .
鈥淗e鈥檚 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,鈥� Zverev said after losing to Sinner 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them 鈥� against Novak and him," said Zverev, who is ranked No. 2 but felt much further away from No. 1 Sinner in Rod Laver Arena. "(Both) move, obviously, tremendous. They鈥檙e constantly on the baseline. They don鈥檛 give you any space. They don鈥檛 give you any time.鈥�
Sinner, still just 23, is a long way from achieving just a fraction of , of course.
And just as Djokovic had a couple of hurdles by the names of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to deal with, Sinner is not alone among the newest generation of tennis stars. His top rival at this point is , who has four Slam victories at age 21 鈥� and won all three matches he played against Sinner in 2024.
Still, it made sense to think of Djokovic while watching Sinner extend his record in major finals to 3-0, which includes a in September.
What about Jannik Sinner is similar to Novak Djokovic?
The never-give-an-inch court coverage. The squeaking sneakers while sprinting, stretching, sliding to reach shots that most other players wouldn't. The ability to flip from defense to offense in a split second. The wherewithal and reflexes to neutralize even the biggest servers.
Add it all up 鈥� plus a serve good enough to avoid any break points against Zverev 鈥� and Sinner is certainly formidable.
Those Djokovic-like tendencies are not mere coincidence.
Sinner, who is from Italy, modeled himself after the Serbian star.
鈥淕ame style-wise I looked up to him, trying to understand what he鈥檚 doing, how he handles the pressure moments and important moments,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淚 still believe we are different as players, because everyone is different, but for sure we have similarities. The similarities are having quite clean ball-striking from the baseline, having good movement, understanding a little bit where your opponent (is going to play) the ball."
Australian Open champion Sinner keeps improving
The swift over the past couple of years is unmistakable.
It's why he ascended atop the rankings last June and hasn't budged. It's why he is 80-6 with nine titles since the start of last season. It's why no one wants to play him these days.
Zverev was 4-2 against Sinner before Sunday, including wins at the U.S. Open in 2021 and 2023.
How much has Sinner changed since then?
鈥淗e serves better. He returns better. He hits his forehand better. He hits his backhand better. He moves better. He volleys better. I mean, there鈥檚 nothing that he doesn鈥檛 do better right now,鈥� Zverev said. 鈥淚 remember those matches. Before, I always felt like once I was getting on top of the rally, I was winning most of those rallies. Now it鈥檚 like he鈥檚 prime Novak. It鈥檚 so difficult to go through him.鈥�
The upcoming task will be to get better on clay and grass, the surfaces at the French Open and Wimbledon. Before play begins at Roland Garros in May, Sinner has a hearing scheduled in April in the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal of a ruling that cleared him in a doping case.
鈥淎t the moment, I鈥檓 not thinking about this," Sinner said. "Of course, you have your moments, (on) certain days, where you feel like: 鈥業 wish I would not have this problem.鈥欌��
Sinner and his coaches talk a lot about growing his game
Sinner and his two coaches, Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, all talk a lot about putting in hard work to grow even more as a player.
鈥淗e's still young. ... You never know what鈥檚 (going to) happen in the future, but for sure, he is a guy that tries to improve every day 鈥� going on court, (in) practice, trying to put new things (in) his game, trying to improve physically,鈥� Vagnozzi said. 鈥淗e's one of the guys that can reach the top level. I mean, when we speak about top level, we think about Novak, about Roger or Rafa.鈥�
Pretty heady company.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP鈥檚 tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
