Author: Barkha Roy
Daniil Medvedev continued his stellar run to claim his first win at the Miami Open. In his fifth ATP Tour final of the year, the 27-year-old beat Jannik Sinner in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 to win his fourth championship this year. Carlos Alcaraz was the opponent in his only defeat this season for the championship in Indian Wells.
It took the Russian just one hour and 34 minutes to close out the match and make it 6-0 in the head-to-head doubles. The fifth-place star now has a record of 24 wins and a single defeat in his last five contests.
“I’m very happy. Today was a difficult match. It was probably the hottest and wettest day of the day. They weren’t easy conditions. I don’t know if Jannik had a minor injury or cramp. I was struggling too, I tried not to show it“, said Medvedev after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title since his victory in Toronto in 2021.
“I hadn’t won such a big title for probably a year and a half. In the end, I was pretty shaken up. Not even tight, because I’m not afraid of winning. But even so, the hands are a little shaky, so the serve is a little more difficult… I managed to pull myself together and close out the match.“
The fourth seed dominated the Italian from the start and left him frustrated with his baseline antics. Such was his dominance that he didn’t face a single break point in the match after Sinner’s five in the fifth game of the first set.
Right from the first shot, the Russian showed his range from the baseline and then took control of the match by winning four consecutive games at 5-5 in the first set. Sinner broke 1-2, but the world didn’t. 5 regained their 3-1 lead a game later.
The 2021 US Open champion’s victory in Miami increases his lead in the Race to Turin calendar standings to 600 points ahead of the next best Novak Djokovic on the list. He should now also climb to number four in the ATP charts.
By reaching the final of the Miami Open, Medvedev became the first tennis player after Djokovic to reach consecutive ATP Masters 1000 finals. This was also his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and his 19th as a professional.