BECOMING the first ever Italian player to win three Grand Slam trophies, the youngest Australian Open back-to-back champion in 32 years and the first man in 19 years to successfully defend his maiden major title were just a few of the accomplishments Jannik Sinner ticked off after defeating Alexander Zverev in last night’s men’s singles final.

The 23-year-old joined an exclusive club with the above records, with Jim Courier (1993) and Rafael Nadal (2006) holding the most recent ones to nudge out the Italian. Throw in his impressive 10 consecutive straight-sets victories over Top 10 opponents that was 51 years in the making, and it is no wonder that the world number one is headed for some special achievements.

Last night Sinner defeated Zverev 6-3 7-6 6-3, winning his third Grand Slam title – all in the space of 12 months – and showed the class gulf between first and second in the world. The Italian could not find the recipe to knock off rival Carlos Alcaraz last season (0-3), but he went 70-3 against everybody else, winning a further six titles to go with his first two major trophies.

“We worked a lot to be in this position and it is an amazing feeling to share this moment with all of you,” Sinner said post-match to his side. “I know a part of the team is at home and my family, but it is amazing to share these feelings with you.

“I know Darren [Cahill] it is probably your last Australian Open as a coach and I am very, very happy to share this trophy with you. Everything started a little bit when I changed my combination of coaches and physio, I am very happy to have you all here.”

In a match that lasted two hours and 42 minutes, Sinner did not face a break point all night as he ground past the German second seed to win, 6-3 7-6 6-3 and break his opponent twice to secure the victory. He hit seven more winners (32-25) and 18 less unforced errors (27-45), withstanding 12 aces off Zverev’s racquet.

The normally powerful German was reduced to a first serve percentage of 69, and while Sinner only went at 63 per cent for his second serve, his 84 per cent first serve percentage got him home. Zverev won just half of his second serve points and struggled when approaching the net (52 to 77 per cent) as Sinner generated 10 break point chances on the night.

Sinner congratulated Zverev on another strong campaign, with the world number two suffering a third Grand Slam final. At least this time, the German was not one set away from winning, having been up 2-0 and 2-1 against Dominic Thiem and Alcaraz at the US Open and Roland Garros, before suffering five-set losses.

Zverev had nothing but praise for Sinner, with the German saying the consistent Italian was “by far” the best in the world.

“It sucks standing next to this thing and not being able to touch it,” Zverev said post-match. “Congratulations to Jannik, you deserve it. You are the best player in the world by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today but you are just too good, it is as simple as that. Congratulations to you and your team, you really deserve it. You have done all the right things and there is nobody who deserves this trophy more.”