Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev Advance to 2025 Australian Open Final - Perfect Tennis

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will face off in Sunday’s 2025 Australian Open final after winning their semi-finals on Friday.

Alexander Zverev was the first to move into Sunday’s showpiece, defeating Novak Djokovic when the Serb retired after losing the first set on a tiebreak.

Novak had not hit a tennis ball since his win over Carlos Alcaraz. He skipped two days of practice to help his leg strain heal.

However, that wasn’t enough, and despite dosing himself up on pain-killing meds before the match, they only worked for so long. After a physical first set, he decided that spending three or four hours more on the court to try to win wasn’t a viable proposition.

In the night match, Jannik Sinner made his second final in Melbourne with a 7-6(2) 6-2 6-2 win over Ben Shelton.

Sinner was a heavy favourite coming in, and after recovering from losing his serve twice in the first set, he lived up to the billing, overcoming a bout of cramp in the third set to get the win over the left-handed Shelton.

Day Thirteen 2025 Australian Open Semi-Final Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Jannik Sinner (1)
Ben Shelton (21)
7-6(2) 6-2 6-2

Alexander Zverev (2)
Novak Djokovic (7)
7-6(5) RET

Zverev Makes Final After Djokovic Retires

Alexander Zverev is through to his first Australian Open final after Novak Djokovic retired following the first set of their semi-final.

Djokovic, trailing 7-6(5), shook Zverev’s hand after losing the tiebreak. He could not continue due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg, which he had sustained during his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.

Before the tiebreak, I thought Djokovic played well. Even when not at 100% movement, he pushed Zverev hard, creating three break-point chances in game three and making some solid plays to save five on his serve in total.

That was expected, as he came into this match preloaded with some pain medication that was hard at work before they even started playing.

We’ve also seen before with the Big Three that they can still play well when injured; both Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have several matches on their resume where they were clearly hampered but still made it competitive or even got over the line.

The tiebreak was also pretty close, and only a botched volley on set point made the difference. At that point, Djoker probably needed another go on the painkillers to sustain his level, and there’s only so much of that stuff you can take. Had he won the first set, I think he would have continued playing, but another 4/5 set battle where he has to stay with Zverev physically? It’s too much of an uphill battle.

I thought Sascha played solidly enough. He was a little passive and opted not to do much with his shots, which helped Djokovic keep things close as he could snatch the initiative.

However, this also meant some rallies were extended, which is why Novak’s movement declined in the tiebreak as they’d been on the court for over an hour.

So, was that smart from Zverev? I dunno, did he intentionally play passive or was he playing like that because he reverted to type at the back end of slams?

I worry he will play like that in the final due to the pressure, and I don’t like him saying, “Maybe I have some luck in a Slam Final as well” You make your own luck, and I agree with Federer; he needs to win the Grand Slam, nobody will hand it to him.

I played him here in 2021 when he had an abdominal tear. and he served 28 aces against me. I have to play 100 per cent. I played probably one of my best sets of the tournament now with the first set, and I won 7/5 in the tie-break while he was injured. I don’t know, maybe I’m not that good, maybe Novak is too good for the sport. I don’t know what to say.

I actually thought it was quite a high-level first set. But of course there is some difficulties and the longer you continue playing, then maybe the worse it gets. In the tie-break, he was maybe not moving as well as in the entire first set. But I thought we had extremely long rallies, extremely difficult, physical rallies.

In the tie-break I did see him struggle maybe a bit more. It would be nice to win one more set than the first two that I’ve played. “Grand Slam finals are always difficult. The two best players in the world are playing on that court. I lost twice in in a fifth set, once in a fifth-set tie-break at the US Open. So I’ve had my tough losses. I feel like maybe it’s time for me to have some luck in a Grand Slam final as well. Zverev on his win.

I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today. But towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Yeah, unfortunate ending, but I tried. Djokovic on the match.

Match Stats

Novak Djokovic
Alexander Zverev

Aces
5
8

Double Faults
0
1

1st Serve Percentage
54% (29/54)
76% (29/38)

1st Serve Points Won
72% (21/29)
83% (24/29)

2nd Serve Points Won
60% (15/25)
78% (7/9)

Break Points Saved
100% (5/5)
100% (3/3)

Average 1st Serve Speed
187 km/h
207 km/h

Average 2nd Serve Speed
146 km/h
171 km/h

1st Return Points Won
17% (5/29)
28% (8/29)

2nd Return Points Won
22% (2/9)
40% (10/25)

Break Points Converted
0% (0/3)
0% (0/5)

Winners
11
24

Unforced Errors
16
15

Net Points Won
36% (5/14)
50% (9/18)

Service Points Won
67% (36/54)
82% (31/38)

Return Points Won
18% (7/38)
33% (18/54)

Total Points Won
47% (43/92)
53% (49/92)

Service Games Won
100% (6/6)
100% (6/6)

Return Games Won
0% (0/6)
0% (0/6)

Total Games Won
50% (6/12)
50% (6/12)

Highlights

Sinner Sees Off Shelton

Jannik Sinner is one win away from successfully defending his Australian Open title after defeating American Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2 in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.

In the opening set, I thought Shelton played well. He mixed in some unpredictably with his slice backhand, and he’s the only player to break Sinner twice in a set during the fortnight.

The problem was that he didn’t serve very well, and many of his first serves came back into play.

That’s why Sinner recovered both breaks and saved those two set points before dominating the tiebreak. Thtiebreakn forehand made some pretty poor unforced errors in that 12th game and the tie-break, wtiebreaked costly.

Sinner began to get on top in the second set, winning 93% of his first-serve points en route to taking a two-set lead as Shelton’s energy level dropped.

After dropping set two, the American called the physio and got a massage on his upper right thigh.

In the third, Shelton started strongly, creating break points in Sinner’s first two service games as the Italian started with his gimpy walk and appeared to be struggling physically after any intense rally.

However, Shelton didn’t convert, and from 2-2, he didn’t play smart tennis. After Sinner had broken to lead 3-2, he had a leg massage at the change of ends and some pickle juice for cramps.

With Sinner not looking great physically, Shelton needed to make him run and try to keep him out there for longer, but he didn’t do it. Dropping the last three games and winning just two points across them.

Close but no cigar, and Sinner proved he’s just a bit too solid and steady from the baseline against someone like Shelton, who is not yet the finished article.

It was a very tough first set but very crucial. I felt he was not serving at his best today. The percentage was not where he would have wanted it at. I think we both returned better than we served. First sets are always very important. It gives you a lot of confidence and there was a lot of tension for both of us. I am very happy with how I handled the situation today. Sinner on his win.