After 15 days of action at Melbourne Park everything comes down to the way it was seeded. 

After 126 men’s matches across all hours of the day, the last match will be played between the two players who came into the tournament as most likely to be the last left standing. 

For the first time since 2019 the top two seeds are set to face off in the men’s singles final at the first grand slam of the year.

Many believed that other names, such as Alcaraz or Djokovic, would feature at the end but the top seeds reigned supreme despite some heart-in-mouth moments. For what has been a controversial Australian Open, two of the most debated figures are left standing at the end.

Jannik Sinner, the German-speaking Italian from near the Austrian border, will be looking for his second-straight Norman Brookes Challenge Cup and third-straight hard court grand slam title. A win would cement his spot as the best player in the world.

The challenger is maybe the best men’s player in the world not to have won a grand slam.

Alexander Zverev has made two major finals, falling agonisingly short on both occasions. This year’s final gives the German the chance to gain ground on the number one ranking and finally get the silverware he has long desired.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses of the final two players left in the 2025 Australian Open.

Is it finally Sinner’s world?

The emergence of tennis stardom often comes at different phases and in different times.

A year ago Sinner was yet to win a grand slam. He had only won a single Masters 1000 event. At just 22-years-old, Sinner’s star was still on the rise.

Since then Sinner has clearly become the best player in the world. In 2024, he won more tournaments (eight) than he lost matches (six). 

The man from the Dolomites took all before him, and perhaps a little bit more. The potential that burned throughout his young tennis career matured and developed him into the most-rounded player in the world.

Sinner has barely faltered through the tournament. Holger Rune, for a brief second, looked like he had the upper hand on the Italian. Australian Tristan Schoolkate also had the upper hand for a moment or so, before hope was snatched away. 

Sinner has found that innate ability of top players to turn almost any situation into one of his advantage.

While the Italian has a range of strengths, his ability to hold his serve might be chief among them. Sinner had the highest service games held percentage of any player last year, and the highest percentage of service points won. 

Sinner isn’t the biggest server on tour, but his placement and ability to position for the follow up shot is sublime. Sinner’s agility and understanding of the angles on the tennis court help him get into position early to put balls away, or keep heavy balls in play.

Sinner’s serve rarely faces pressure, but when it does he is one of the best in the game at defending break points. That’s if you can even get there — he also concedes the fewest break points of any top 50 player.

Sinner is relatively strong on both the forehand and backhand sides. His semi-western grip and lanky frame allows him to impart above-average power and spin on his topspin forehand. 

His speed and length allow him to get into hittable positions more often than most players. He also looks to hit cross-court more than most players rather than down the line, shifting the pace of play and angles.

When asked to analyse his own weaknesses at the US Open last year, Sinner said: “Yeah, going for sure on the net, you know, sometimes I miss some volleys. Shot selection sometimes is still, I feel like I can make it a little bit better. There are also some small things, the small details what makes a big difference in high level.”

According to Tennis Abstract, Sinner won net points at the fourth highest rate last year. Even his weakness would be a strength for most other players.

When he has seen his standards drop, there have been a couple of unifying themes present. 

Sometimes he struggles to land his first serves in, which can lead to him serving more safely and losing that positional advantage. His aggression in his return game can also occasionally get away from him.

These are truly small things. It’s why he’s been considered the one to beat all tournament, and perhaps all year.

Zverev’s quest for glory

It was nearly preordained that Alexander Zverev would become a tennis player.

The son of two elite Soviet tennis players, Zverev picked up a racquet at an early age and battled his decade-older brother. 

That brother, Mischa Zverev, was more than a handy player, reaching the top 25 in the world in his own right. Given the amount of in-house competition, Alexander was on the right path early.

Zverev has nearly the perfect frame for modern tennis. At 198cm he has long levers able to keep almost any ball in play. Despite his obvious physical weapons, he also has had to manage playing with type 1 diabetes — a challenge for any professional athlete.

Zverev’s rise to the top came early — from being a top-ranked junior to breaking through to the second week of slams by his 20th birthday. 

The final step is that elusive victory in a major, having lost his first two finals to date.

He builds his game on two pillars — his dominant first serve and adaptable defensive game.

Zverev mixes extreme speed on his first serve with stellar accuracy. The German is the sixth-fastest server of this Australian Open, and has landed the most first serves in play of any player who made the third round or later. 

That backs up his last 12 months on tour as one of the most accurate servers in the game.

Whether serving or returning, Zverev excels at controlling the pace of play and dictating positions on the court. He often makes players work across court, setting up for his attacking strokes. 

The German hits more winners than most players on tour, set up by this movement.

Surprisingly for a top-ranked player, it is not Zverev’s forehand that is his stronger shot but instead his two-handed backhand. 

The German is one of the few elite players who appears to prefer letting loose from what notionally should be his weaker side. 

His down-the-line backhand is a thing of beauty, and can catch any opponent off guard.

If there’s a weakness in his game it’s how well he can harness his aggression and pick his spots. 

Zverev can leave the court exposed if he mistimes his forehand despite his excellent defensive capabilities.

The tale of the tape

Sinner and Zverev aren’t complete strangers to each other, facing off six times in the past. To the surprise of some, the German has the career head-to-head advantage over the world number one.

It’s worth noting that Zverev is four years older than Sinner, and all of those wins came before Sinner won a grand slam or rose to the top ranking spot. Sinner won their last encounter, a three-hour hard court epic in Cincinnati last year. Two of the three sets went to a tiebreaker, both won by the Italian.

That match might show how this Australian Open final may play out. The service game of both players dominate, with only nine break points seen through the match. 

Zverev showed a willingness to come into the net to relatively little success.

Zverev’s game is somewhat built to beat players like Sinner — by wearing them down and matching their strengths. It’s also worth noting that their last grand slam encounter — at the 2023 US Open — lasted almost five hours.

If it plays out like either of those matches, it could very well be a long, gruelling battle.

• ABC Sport will be live blogging the Australian Open men’s final from 7:30pm (AEDT) and you can listen to the match via the ABC Listen app