Jannik Sinner moved into his fourth semi-final of the year and captured a season-leading 20th match win Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The Italian produced a squeaky-clean performance to oust Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2 after converting four of his 11 break chances across 91 minutes.
“I didn't exactly know what to expect today,” Sinner said. “The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not… Today I played good, especially in the important moments of the match. I’m really happy to play again in the semis here.”
Sinner, who has twice reached the final in Miami (2021, 2023), is into the last four for a third time. Aiming for his second ATP Masters 1000 crown, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings boasts a 20-1 season record with titles at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam.
Machac took early cuts at the ball and was fearless off his backhand, but it was Sinner who held his ground in lengthy baseline rallies with superb all-court coverage, even striking a one-handed flick passing shot in the opening set to steal a point.
After an early exchange of breaks, Sinner outlasted Machac in an eight-minute game at 3-3 to gain an advantage on the 23-year-old. The second seed changed direction with ease and picked apart Machac’s forehand, which accounted for 15 of his 31 unforced errors. Sinner dropped just three points on serve in the second set to close his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Machac.
“He has an incredible talent I think to play this sport. He is super fast also physically, he’s in great shape,” Sinner said.
A 12-time tour-level titlist, Sinner will next face defending champion Daniil Medvedev or 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry. Should Medvedev advance, Friday’s semi-final will be a rematch of last year’s title match.
“Physically I feel good. I’m just happy to compete,” Sinner said. “We practise very hard to be in these positions and I’m really happy I can play once again in the semis here at such a special tournament. It’s special for me, I made my first Masters 1000 final here, so I’m really happy to be back in the semis.”
Machac is up 17 spots to No. 43 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, securing his Top 50 debut on Monday. A first-time Masters 1000 quarter-finalist, Machac and countryman Jiri Lehecka will be the first pair of Czech players in the Top 50 since August 2017 (Tomas Berdych, Jiri Vesely).
20 WINS IN 2024 🙌@janniksin outlasts Machac to make the semis in Miami 🌴@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TIFxm0I9ty
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 27, 2024
© Copyright 1994 - 2024 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies
