Jannik Sinner was proud. The 23-year-old had become the first Italian to win three grand slam singles titles, defending his Australian Open crown with a ruthless and dominant straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev. His beaten opponent revealed the difference between the World No 1 and World No 2 at a hard-court grand slam. “He is in a different universe,” Zverev said. For Sinner, a third grand slam title in a row on the surface and a continuation of his winning run put him among all-time legends of the game. Sinner’s achievements over the past 12 months have placed him on a path to greatness.

But Sinner remarked that he took pride in another aspect of his Australian Open defence.

Jannik Sinner, speaking to Discovery+ and Eurosport, on what won him the match today.

“I felt like I was starting the match very well, feeling the ball well and playing aggressive. The second set could have gone both ways but I had break point chances and he served very well. In the third set I tried to search for the break. I served very well today.

“I do struggle sometimes inside. Tennis you have some days where you feel worse but every day is different. I know I can raise my level every day and that’s what I was searching for. I tried to stay focused. I’m well prepared for tough battles and I have shown that in the two weeks.”

Some stats on Sinner’s dominant second Australian Open title, via OptaAce.

• Sinner is the fifth player in the Open Era to win three consecutive men’s singles titles at hard-court grand slams, joining Djokovic, Federer, Lendl and McEnroe.
• Sinner is the fourth player in the last 35 years not to face a single break point in a grand slam final, joining Nadal, Federer and Sampras
• Sinner has now won 47 of his first 50 matches as World No 1, joining Borg and Connors as the most of all time.
• Sinner is the first player in over 50 years to claim 10 consecutive straight-sets wins against top-10 opponents

• 1st serve in: Sinner 60% – 68% Zverev
• 1st serve points won: Sinner 84% – 69% Zverev
• 2nd serve points won: Sinner 63% – 50% Zverev

• Aces: Sinner 6-12 Zverev
• Double faults: Sinner 2-2 Zverev

• Winners: Sinner 32 – 25 Zverev
• Unforced errors: Sinner 27 – 45 Zverev

• Break points won: Sinner 2/10 – 0/0 Zverev
• Total points won: Sinner 107 – 83 Zverev

Since turning World No 1, Jannik Sinner has got quite used to giving victory speeches. Here’s the champion:

“I would like to start with Sascha. A tough day for you. You are an amazing player. Keep beleiving in yourself, we all know how strong you are not only as a player but also a person. So keep it up, we all believe you can win one of these very, very soon.

“My team, what can I say. We worked so hard to be in this position. It’s amazing to achieve this things but mostly to share them with you guys. Darren [Cahill] I know this might be your last Australian Open, I’m happy we can win the trophy.

“This is an amazing tournament, for me the most special grand slam. Thank you so much.”

“First of all, it sucks standing here next to this and not being able to touch it. But congratulations to Jannik, you deserve it, you are the best player in the world by far. I was hoping to be more competitive today but you are too good, it’s as simple as that. You have done all the right things, all the right work, and nobody deserves this title more.

“We are trying to do all the right work, I’m just not good enough. It’s as simple as that. But I appreciate what everyone has done, back from my ankle injury to World No 2 and playing grand slam finals again.”

Aryna Sabalenka was unable to hide her frustration after losing the Australian Open final to Madison Keys as the World No 1 smashed up her racket following the handshake at the net.

Sabalenka, 26, was bidding to win her fourth grand slam title and third Australian Open in a row but was stunned by Keys, who capped a sensational run with her first major title at the age of 29.

Afterwards, Sabalenka said she had to let the frustration out in order to give a “respectful” runners-up speech, after being so close to winning a third Australian Open title in a row.

Bjorn Fratangelo praised the perseverance of wife Madison Keys after she finally achieved her dream of winning a grand-slam title.

The 29-year-old defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling contest at the Australian Open to fulfil the predictions of those who saw her burst onto the scene as a teenage prodigy.

Watching courtside after agreeing to become Keys’ coach last year during a difficult period was Fratangelo, her husband of a couple of months and the closest witness to her years of struggle.

Keys admitted after lifting the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup that the burden of expectation weighed increasingly heavily as the years went past before therapy helped her find pride in her career, with or without a major title.

Andy Murray is determined to improve as a coach after his first grand slam experience with Novak Djokovic.

Whether the pair will continue to work together remains to be seen but the experience appears to have whetted the Scot’s appetite.

Madison Keys dethroned Aryna Sabalenka to become the oldest first-time winner of the women’s singles title at the Australian Open.

World number one Sabalenka was bidding to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in the late 1990s to win three straight titles at Melbourne Park.

But American Keys, who seemed destined never to achieve the grand slam title that had been predicted when she turned professional aged only 14, followed up her upset of second seed Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals by claiming a 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory.