The world number one beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets in Sunday's (26.01.25) final to make it back-to-back triumphs in Melbourne and revealed that he felt under "extra pressure" to retain his crown.

Sinner told Eurosport: "Coming here defending the title, it’s always different. You have this extra pressure, but I always enjoy it. Every match has been very, very tough and [in] the final, the pressure is different.

"It’s a tough day for Sascha [Zverev] because he already had some Grand Slam finals – very tough ones. I got lucky in the second set tie-break with the net cord and everything. He was a bit down, and I tried to keep him up a little bit. It was very difficult.

"But talking from my side, I’m obviously very happy. My team, we know how hard we worked for this one, and I appreciate all the support I had these two weeks."

Sinner progressed through the tournament with relative ease but admits that he did "struggle" at points during the event.

The Italian ace said: "I do struggle sometimes inside, but with tennis, you have days when you feel a bit worse, but in my mind, I know that every day can be different, and I can raise my level from every day and that’s what I was searching for.

"Coming here without playing any tournaments before, not knowing exactly what’s going to come, and I just tried to stay very focused about these moments. In my mind, I know that I’m well-prepared for tough battles, and I’ve shown that for these two weeks."

Sinner became the first Italian player to win three major titles and paid tribute to his family for their support back at home.

He said: "They know how much it means to share this one with my family, with my parents, with my brother who is actually here so it’s amazing.

"It’s amazing where I’m from in such a small village and bringing home this kind of trophy, it’s amazing, and I’m very happy to share this with them."