Janic Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev to reach the final in Miami

Jannik Sinner is really getting into Daniil Medvedev’s head. Winners of their last four duels before this half in Miami (the Russian won their first six clashes), the Italian made it five in Florida on Friday.

And this time, there was no duel between the two men but a solo performance from the world number three, winning in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) in the final, his third in Miami after 2021 and 2023 (for two defeats), facing Alexander Zverev or will be against Grigor Dimitrov.

During his first four wins against Gilles Cervara’s protégés, Sinner struggled, particularly during his breakthrough in the Australian Open final, where he trailed two sets to nil. Medvedev then took his opponent by surprise by developing a much more aggressive game than usual. None of this happened in Miami. Serena Williams, seen in the stands and receiving warm applause from the crowd, undoubtedly did not attend the fight she came to observe.

Many people, in any case, should not have expected this scenario of such a clear victory for the Italian. From the start he pressured the opponent’s serve and earned himself break points. The third was true and he closed out the point with a short crosscourt forehand. Medvedev looked to respond in the next game and offered himself two break points, misfiring the first and missing the second short ball. He didn’t know it yet, but he had missed the best opportunity of the entire meeting.

Sinners for the title and the No. 2 spot

Behind, the Russian fell victim to Sinner’s thunderbolt, frustrated from the third game by the quality of the Italian’s balls. He lost his serve again and saw the games go down 0-5 before finally managing to win his service game. After being knocked down by his opponent in the first set, the Italian did not stop there and continued to display precision and power. From the first play of the second act, he achieved an empty break on a brilliant return. And when the Russian had a chance to get back together, he pulled out all the stops with a parade-like serve-forehand sequence to stave off break points and two aces to make the world No. 4 realize he was good. Boss on the court.

Back, he once again enlisted the services of his rival and continued his destructive operations against the powerless Medvedev, whose eyes on his clan did not allow him to find a solution. Sinner will have a chance to add a second Masters 1000 title to his list of achievements on Sunday in Toronto after acquiring it last year. A victory would also allow him to become Novak Djokovic’s new runner-up in the ATP rankings as he overtakes Carlos Alcaraz.