Jannik Sinner needed only 69 minutes to cruise past defending champion Daniil Medvedev to reach the Miami Open final this year. Sinner came into the tournament as the second seed and has been on fire in his past three matches
The one-sided semi-final against Medvedev was won by a score of 6-1 6-2, without much resistance from his opponent. Sinner was able to produce a remarkable display of serving and powerful groundstrokes, leaving not much of a chance for the Russian to counter attack.
The meeting was a rematch of the Australian Open final, which had seen Medvedev lead by two sets before Sinner came back to win his first grand slam. This time it was much easier for the Italian as he ruthlessly dominated Medvedev, giving him no chance for respite.
World number four Medvedev, who beat Sinner last year to lift the Miami title, wasn’t himself on the night. He made 22 unforced errors during the match and couldn’t find any rhythm, being dismantled by Sinner in both sets.
As mentioned before, Sinner has been on an absolute tear in 2024. His only loss so far this season came at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals in Indian Wells two weeks ago. If he wins the Miami Open he will surpass Alcaraz in the world rankings to number 2, just behind Novak Djokovic.
In order to win the title, Sinner will need to get past Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Dimitrov Advances To Finals Over Zverev
Grigor Dimitrov progressed into the final of the Miami Open following victory over Alexander Zverev. Dimitrov had beaten Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round in a shock win and has been playing some of his best tennis in the past few years in Florida.
The veteran had a tough opponent in his semi final in fourth seed Zverev and required three sets to put him away, 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4. In the closely contested match, Dimitrov was able to find an edge in the first set after converting his first break point.
He then had a shot taking the second set but couldn’t convert on his break points. The two couldn’t be separated in the second, with 81% first serve points won. Eventually the set went into a tiebreaker which he lost despite saving two set points.
Even though the momentum was with Zverev going into the third and final set, Dimitrov was able to steady himself and get an early break. From there he released on his serve to keep his opponent at bay, eventually taking the set 6-4.
Zverev has five ATP 1000 titles under his belt and was aiming for a first final at this level since the 2022 Madrid Open. He ended up losing the final to Carlos Alcaraz.
Dimitrov has had an unexpectedly good year thus far, already winning a tournament in the Brisbane International. He targets a first ATP 1000 title since winning the 2017 Cincinnati Open, after his latest victory over Alexander Zverev has made him move up to no.9 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The gap of 260 weeks between his Top 10 standings is the third largest in history.
Miami Open 2024 Finals Preview
Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov have previously met each other three times on the tour. They first met each other at the 2020 Italian Open, where the Bulgarian was able to beat the local boy quite handily. Sinner has since won their last two encounters to lead the head-to-head matchup 2-1. Their last meeting was at the China Open in 2023.
Based on current form, it will be hard to bet against Sinner who has looked like the best player in the world this year. He has not only been winning but dominating his opponents, holding them down with his great serve and breaking them with his terrific returns and groundstrokes.
Expect Dimitrov to give Sinner a fight but the younger legs of Sinner to come out on top.
