Australian Open: Sinner determined to replicate hard court dominance in other majors

The Italian triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 against Alexander Zverev on Sunday to retain his Australian Open title and win a third grand slam, having also won the US Open last year.

Sinner (23y, 163d) is the second-youngest player to win three consecutive grand slam men's singles events on hard court during the Open Era, behind only John McEnroe (22y 206d).

He is also only the fifth player in the Open Era to win three straight men's singles titles at grand slam events on hard court, after McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has reached the semi-finals at both the French Open (2024) and Wimbledon (2023), though he is determined to improve that record later this year and build on his latest major win.

"It's for sure one thing I always think about. You have to be a complete player, not only one surface, but on also the other two," he said.

"I believe last year was not a bad season at all on clay and also on grass. I can do better, yes, but let's see. I mean, these are questions that I can answer by playing in the future.

"For sure, we are aiming to get into this rhythm, into the game style, because it's a bit different game style, especially on grass, because it's a bit different, the movement, and then we see."

3 - Jannik Sinner is the fifth player in the Open Era to win three consecutive Men’s Singles titles at Grand Slam events on hard court. King.#AO2025 | @AustralianOpen @atptour pic.twitter.com/5QuMpxUAMx

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 26, 2025

Sinner has won each of his last 21 matches on hard court, extending his impressive record as world number one in the process.

The Italian has equalled Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors (47) for the most wins in their first 50 matches as the top-ranked player, since 1973.

Sinner was happy to acknowledge his dominance on hard court but insisted he would work to improve his record on the other two surfaces to give him a better chance in those grand slams.

"Of course, on hard court I feel more comfortable. I think that we can see," he said. "But I take it as positive, because on the other surfaces, I still have to improve, I have to see how it works.

"I'm going to put a lot of energy in that, trying to find the right ways, and hopefully to go far also in the other grand slams which are not played on hard court. Then we see.

"As I always say, I'm still young, and I think I have time to adjust, especially on grass court, because I never played the juniors. It was kind of new when I arrived to the tour. Then we see.