Andy Roddick says what he finds 'scary' about Jannik Sinner after the Australian Open final as he admits he's confused now

Jannik Sinner has wasted no time in securing a third Grand Slam title, having beaten Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final.

Sinner has been congratulated by Novak Djokovic following his success, which came via a straight set win over Zverev.

World number one Sinner needed just under three hours to beat the German 6-3, 7-6(7-4), 6-3 in the 2025 Australian Open final at Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner thinks Zverev can win a Grand Slam, having just lost his third such final after previous defeats to Dominic Thiem and Carlos Alcaraz.

In contrast, the Italian is unbeaten in his three finals, the latest of which involved Sinner not conceding a single break point.

Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images

Andy Roddick ‘confused’ by how players can beat Jannik Sinner

At 23, he is the long-serving world number one and boasts 19 ATP Tour titles, having won the last three hard-court Grand Slams.

It is a situation that has left 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick baffled, with the American saying on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast: “We are entering a territory where we kind of have the same superlatives to define the greatness that currently exists with Jannik Sinner.

READ MORE: Pat Cash amazed by ‘ridiculous’ Jannik Sinner stat after he wins the Australian Open title for a second time

“I am confused because similar to the problems that Novak [Djokovic] in his prime presented and Roger [Federer] in his prime presented, you can’t really go through Sinner right now.

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“Look at who he has beaten in the two Slam finals. It was Taylor Fritz, who makes a living going through people, and Zverev, who makes a living serving through people and then hitting backhands through the court to gain an edge.

“But he doesn’t give an inch. It is frustrating because the rest of the game is more complete. He probably moves better out of the corners.

“He can hit winners off of both sides and not just one. He does what you do but better, so where do you go?

“He used to not serve great and now he serves a high percentage. He defended his serve with an 84% clip and his second serve with a 64% clip. He didn’t serve great but he served 60% still. If that’s the floor!”

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner does, of course, have a very, very long way to go to catch the likes of Djokovic and Federer in that regard.

The Serbian tops the pile for men’s titles with 24, four ahead of Federer in third and two ahead of Rafael Nadal in second.

READ MORE: John McEnroe makes point about Novak Djokovic immediately after Jannik Sinner wins the Australian Open title

But he is certainly going about his business the right way, particularly on hard courts, with more success on clay and grass perhaps now the aim.

But very worryingly for his Sinner’s rivals, former world number one Roddick believes the Italian is progressing with more matches.

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“One thing I will say about what is scary is that he has more tools in the arsenal as time goes on,” continued Roddick.

“The drop shot he was hitting over and over and over again when Zverev would drop way back, like he does, because he can against most of earth.

Jannik Sinner Service Alexander Zverev 6 Aces 12 2 Double faults 2 60% 1st serve in 68% 84% Win 1st serve 69% 63% Win 2nd serve 50% 209 Fastest serve (km/h) 223 197 1st serve average (km/h) 205 149 2nd serve average (km/h) 170 Jannik Sinner v Alexander Zverev final service stats

“He can drift back and make up the differences. Is he just going to change that and rush Sinner? No, so save that. But Sinner is throwing in that drop shot on big points. So Zverev can’t do the thing he likes to do.

“Sinner didn’t have that shot when he lost to Zverev in the round of 16 in 2023 at the US Open. That’s not a shot he was deploying. Now he did it 10 or 12 times. And it’s twofold.

“One, the shot was working and he was winning the majority of the points on it and two, it was a piece of information that Zverev had to account for in the rest of the rallies.

“So you cannot go through him or around him, he is entering the dangerous territory of potentially being the best defensive player in the world on a given day and the best offensive player on a given day.”

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