Jannik Sinner’s domination of men’s tennis this year continued on Sunday night, as he won the Miami Open 6-3, 6-1 over 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Sinner had been runner-up at the Miami Open twice in 2021 and 2023.
In his second straight Miami Open finals appearance, the 22-year-old was able to take the title for the first time, ending the match in 1 hour and 13 minutes. He couldn’t do much wrong, as the 2024 Australian Open champ dropped just seven games combined in the semifinals and finals.
Sinner moved to 22-1 on the year, with his only loss coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi finals of Indian Wells a few weeks ago. With the win, Sinner moves from the world no. 3 position to 2 — highest ranking of his young career and in Italian history.
The Florida crowd was behind Dimitrov, as chants of “Gri-gor’’ resounded the entire match. The veteran Dimitrov had created a couple of upsets earlier this week by beating top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.
Despite the loss in the finals, Dimitrov produced some of his best tennis in Miami. He was back to his old self, attacking second serves and looked good at the net. The Bulgarian, cracked the top 10 once again and won a title for the first time in 6 years when he lifted the trophy in Brisbane.
While it was clear that Dimitrov wasn’t anywhere near Sinner’s level of play, he should have a solid 2024 ahead of him if he can continue his form.
The focus will now change to the clay-court season in Europe, which will finish off with the French at Roland Garros which begins on May 20. Sinner, who is in top form, will be looking to add another grand slam to his resume.
Match Summary
The first set started off tight, with Sinner struggling to find his rhythm in the first couple of exchanges. Dimitrov held comfortably in his first service game and even created the first break point opportunity of the match at 1-2, 30/40. Dimitrov couldn’t capitalize however, as Sinner went on to hold.
The Italian then began to systematically take over the matchup. He struck a brilliant forehand winner down the line to move 3-2 ahead and then pushed held on to win the first set 6-3. The 22-year-old hit a total of winners in the set and committed just eight unforced errors.
The second set saw a complete dismantling of the Bulgarian. Sinner raced away to a lead, breaking Dimitrov in consecutive games. Sinner was 100% of his second serve points in the set and barely gave up anything in his 6-1 win.
Danielle Collins Beats Elena Rybakina in Women’s Final
American Danielle Collins took down fourth seed Elena Rybakina in straight sets to win the Miami Open. It was her first WTA 1,000 title of her career and she became the second unseeded women’s champion in Miami, after Kim Clijsters in 2005.
The first set was relatively close with Collins saving four break points to hold serve at 4-3, before saving another at 5-5. She then got a few break points of her own to take the first set 7-5.
The second set was closely fought as both players exchanged breaks on their service. Rybankina had a chance to go up another break but squandered the opportunity to allow Collins off the hook. Collins on the other hand converted her chance to take a 5-3 lead. She then sealed the win shortly afterwards on her fourth match point.
The result marks the second year in a row that Rybakina has lost in the Miami final She lost to Petra Kvitova in 2023.
Collins jumped her world ranking from 53rd to 22nd but had already announced her retirement at the end of the 2024 season. Collins indicated her decision to step away from tennis was linked to her endometriosis, a condition where her cells like those in the lining of the womb grow elsewhere in the body.
Read Also:
