Sinner keeps rolling in Miami

Jannik Sinner did what he does best: play controlled, aggressive tennis and avoid drama. The world No. 2 beat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach the final of the Miami Masters 1000, and he did it without dropping a set in the whole event.

  • Final score: 6-3, 7-6 (4)
  • Match length: 1 hour 53 minutes
  • Sinner's head-to-head vs Zverev now: 8-4 in Sinner's favor
  • This is Sinner's 35th ATP final and he’s chasing his 26th career title

How the match unfolded

Sinner broke Zverev in the fourth game of the first set and kept that advantage to close it out 6-3. The second set was tighter and went to a tiebreak. At 4-4 in the breaker, Zverev made a mistake that Sinner punished, then closed it with an ace.

This was Sinner’s seventh straight win over Zverev. Zverev will fall to world No. 3 in the rankings on Monday.

Numbers that matter

  • Sinner has now won 32 consecutive sets at Masters 1000 events.
  • He won Indian Wells two weeks ago and is now chasing the elusive "Sunshine Double," last achieved by Roger Federer in 2017.

What Sinner said

"It was a very tough match, Zverev played incredible tennis. I served very well at the end, especially at the crucial moments. I'm very happy, this final means a lot to me." He added about his upcoming opponent: "Lehecka is an incredible player. He will probably play more freely in the final. I will try to control what I can and then see what happens." Sinner also noted that Indian Wells and Miami feel like different tournaments with different conditions, and that reaching another final was a key goal.

The final opponent: Jiri Lehecka

Sinner will meet Jiri Lehecka, who beat American Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 in the semis. The Czech is No. 22 in the world and has never beaten Sinner, so the matchup favors the Italian on paper.

Doubles: good news for Italy

Italy picked up more good results in doubles.

  • Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini reached their first Miami Open doubles final after their opponents Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang retired due to Mertens experiencing chest problems. The match lasted only three games before medical staff was called.

  • In the other doubles semi, the second-seeded pair Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend came back to beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani with the score 4-6, 6-4, 10-3.

So the doubles final will be Errani/Paolini versus Siniakova/Townsend.

Men's doubles final set

The Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori have already qualified for the men’s doubles final. Their opponents will be Harri Heliovaara from Finland and Britain’s Henry Patten.

Bottom line

Sinner is in hot form, one win away from completing a rare back-to-back at two big hard-court events. He’ll face a confident Lehecka who has nothing to lose. Meanwhile, Italy can cheer on two more finals in doubles, even if one came via unfortunate injury for the opponents.