Jannik Sinner produced a sizzling semi-final performance Friday when he flew past Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour, nine minutes at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The 22-year-old is now one win away from his third title of the season, which would send him to a career-high No. 2 in Monday's PIF ATP Rankings.
“I felt great on court today. Usually the more you go on in a tournament, the more comfortable I feel,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy with this performance.”
A clean-hitting Sinner displayed why he has been the player to beat on the ATP Tour this year. Boasting a season-leading 21-1 match record, the second seed flew out of the blocks, jumping to a 5-0 advantage as he crushed the ball and kept Medvedev guessing if he should play offence or defence.
Medvedev started the match inside Hard Rock Stadium by returning closer to the baseline, a contrast to his trademark position close to the back wall. He eventually reverted to a deep stance, but was unable to convert any of his three break chances across the afternoon.
Take a bow @janniksin 🔥🎾
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 29, 2024
9.52 and the highest #PerformanceRating of 2024 📈#TennisInsights | @atptour | @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/nG3QCWXfXM
Sinner’s momentum never ceased as he won 10 consecutive points spanning from late in the first set into the second set, during which he broke Medvedev at love in the opening game. Sinner routinely placed the ball on a dime and frustrated the World No. 4 with his brick-wall consistency, committing just 12 unforced errors to Medvedev's 22.
“He made a lot of mistakes, which he usually doesn’t make," Sinner said of Medvedev, who committed just four unforced errors in the first set of his quarter-final against Nicolas Jarry. "I just took the chance. I was expecting a really tough match. If he breaks me in the first set or in the second set, it’s already very different.”
Sinner has remarkably reversed the trend in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev, who 12 months ago ousted the Italian in the Miami final to improve to 6-0 against the World No 3. Though Medvedev still holds a 6-5 advantage, the 12-time tour-level titlist has claimed five consecutive victories, including at the Australian Open, where he roared back from two-sets-to-love down to win his first major trophy.
Holding the top spot in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, Sinner showed patience in backhand-to-backhand exchanges, not forcing the ball down-the-line prematurely, as he did in the first two sets of the Australian Open final, which led to several unforced errors.
Into the Miami final for a third time (2021, 2023), Sinner will aim for his second ATP Masters 1000 crown (2023 Toronto) against 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 on Friday night. Sinner, who will play in his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title match Sunday, is the youngest player to reach three Miami finals.
“I remember the night before my [first] final [in 2021], I couldn’t sleep. I was sweating during the night,” Sinner recalled. “Now I handle the situation much, much better. I’m just excited and happy to be back. Hopefully I can play some good tennis Sunday.”
The 28-year-old Medvedev, now 18-4 on the season, was aiming to successfully defend a title for the first time.
JAN THE MAN IS SIN-TILLATING 🤹♂️@janniksin becomes the youngest player to reach THREE #MiamiOpen finals!!! pic.twitter.com/YlF2sQoTUc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 29, 2024
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