A slightly awkward feeling hangs over the Australian Open men’s singles final (tonight 7:30pm AEDT), as Alex Zverev aims for his first slam title against defending champion and world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
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For Sinner, the stakes are clear, and all revolve around history.
With a third slam in 12 months, he can become the most successful player in Italy’s proud tennis history, the clear top men’s player on the planet and the dominant force on hard courts.
Just three other men – Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – have defended the Australian Open men’s singles crown this century.
For Zverev, it’s about a long-awaited breakthrough. Though some would prefer if he kept waiting.
The world No.2 has, for some time, been the best player on tour without a slam to his name. He has been agonisingly close, losing the 2020 US Open final from two sets up, and the 2024 French Open final from two sets to one up; not to mention last year’s semi-final at Melbourne Park, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev from two sets up.
But the fact Zverev has made the final at all is a source of continued concern for many.
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The German was accused by two ex-girlfriends of domestic abuse. One did not go to the police, and a lengthy investigation by the ATP found insufficient evidence to support her allegations, with the report not published.
The second, who is the mother of his child, took Zverev to court – in which the prosecutor alleged Zverev pushed her against a wall and strangled her with both hands following a “heated argument”.
After the trial was taken behind closed doors, it soon ended under a unique German court system ruling; similar to a settlement, it sees Zverev maintain his presumption of innocence, but no ruling of guilt or innocence was officially made, and he paid a €200,000 ‘financial stipulation’ to the state.
Notably, Zverev would not have had to pay if a judge had formally declared him not guilty; the process was effectively discontinued before a ruling could be made either way.
A situation that had already been handled awkwardly by tennis authorities, with Zverev allowed to play while being investigated (against the rules of many sports leagues, which have domestic abuse policies), was left unsolved with a lack of clarity on what really happened.
Zverev, of course, had to be allowed to continue playing once the legal process ended. But as former New York Times journalist turned Substack writer Ben Rothenberg explained at Bounces, “there’s a lot of glum, frustrated witnesses to his (Zverev’s) continued presence and preeminence in tennis”.
“It has a real, painful impact for many people who do not enjoy watching him play, many of whom cannot bring themselves to ever watch his matches because of how strongly they feel about him.”
Rothenberg added: “I’ve heard it described as a great “exhale” when Zverev loses at majors; with him into his second final in nine months, again many in the tennis world will be holding their breath until the last point of the men’s final.”
It’s worth noting Sinner has his own issue lingering in the background, after testing positive to a banned substance last year.
The World Anti-Doping Agency will appeal the decision to allow Sinner to continue playing in April, and even a short drug ban could cost him multiple majors later this year.
Follow Day 15 at the Australian Open, including the men’s final, live below!
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 15 ORDER OF PLAY (All times AEDT)
Rod Laver Arena
From 3pm
Women’s Doubles Final: No.1 Katerina Siniakova (CZE) and Taylor Townsend (USA) vs No.3 Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) and Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
Not before 7:30pm
Men’s Singles Final: No.1 Jannik Sinner (ITA) v No.2 Alex Zverev (GER)
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