If it is often said that tennis is a sport of moods, the men’s final of the Miami Masters 1000 confirmed it. Because Grigor Dimitrov won the first set 2 to 1 and had the first break point of the match in his favor. But he wasted it and that hurricane called Jannik Sinner did not forgive him. He barely allowed him to add two more games before defeating him 6-3 and 6-1 in just one hour and 13 minutes of play.
The victory on American soil allows Jannick a new milestone: after becoming the first Italian to reach the top 3 in the history of the ATP rankings (since 1973) in February, From this Monday he will be number 2 in the worlddisplacing the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz to 3rd and remaining very close to the leader, the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Nole has 9725 points, against 8710 for Sinner, while Alcaraz accumulates 8645.
After that moment of wobble, Sinner not only maintained his serve, but just a moment later he broke the Bulgarian and with his serve he went 4 to 2. In the same way, but on the other side of the net, another moment occurred hinge. Because now it was Sinner who had two chances to get 5 to 2 and decide the first set in his favor.
But the famous seventh game, which lasted 7 minutes, helped Dimitrov regain his lost confidence. And then Sinner took 4 to 3 with no margin for error to maintain his advantage. He quickly took a 30-0 lead, but then hit a long ball and later made his first double fault at an inopportune moment. Although he controlled the rest of the game with his powerful serve.
The 5-3 score offered the Italian two chances to win the first set. And in the first he resolved it 6-3, with great precision in the return of serve, even when Dimitrov made it difficult for him. The strong fact of the first partial was that every time Sinner was able to get his first serve in, he won the point.
The best play of the match came in the first point of the second set. There, both tennis players ran from one side to the other and threw a drop and a counterdrop, so that Sinner finally maintained serve.
What followed was a monologue from the Italian against an opponent who could do nothing in the face of such supremacy, until Sinner resolved it with his first chance of the three he had in that seventh game of the second set.
After the defeat, Dimitrov expressed: “I want to congratulate Jannik because he is doing an exceptional job this year. It’s very special to see you play, although not so much against you. I learned to enjoy this tournament, which was never easy for me. This year I was able to enjoy it and it did well, perhaps very well. I am very happy with my performance. I couldn’t win today, but I feel like a winner. It was very special to play in front of this crowd and when I look at my box and my people I feel like a winner.”
For his part, Sinner was very happy with the victory and started with a universal: “Happy Easter!”. He then praised the vanquished of him: “I want to thank Grigor, it’s very good to see you play at this level again. We trained together in Monte Carlo and it was not only very good to play with you but also to share moments and chat with you. I congratulate you and your team for that. Also, I thank my entire team. This is the result of the work we have been doing and I want to share it with you.”
Regarding his new position in the ranking, as Djokovic’s guard, Sinner noted: “It feels incredible to be number 2 in the worldbut on the other hand what I showed today at this level is more important. If you play consistently, the numbers take care of themselves. I am very happy and very proud to share this moment with my team. How am I going to celebrate this title? I don’t know, I’m not one of those guys who goes to parties. “I’m going to celebrate and enjoy, but nothing incredible.”
Then, the Italian shared his joy: “I was finally able to win the champion trophy, without a doubt.” It is one of the best tournaments I play. Thank you very much to those who make it possible.”
Finally, he spoke to the audience: “The atmosphere in which we were able to play these weeks was wonderful. It is a very special tournament for me and we will meet again next year.”
Sinner, champion of the 39th edition of the Miami ATP, took home US$1,100,000, and has already passed US$21,000,000 in career earnings. This season it has already accumulated US$3,961,228. Meanwhile, Dimitrov received a check for US$585,000 for reaching the definition.
Different realities
This final found the two protagonists with different presents. On Sinner’s side, The Italian is in a state of grace. He has a 22-1 record on the season. He won the Australian titles (his first Grand Slam) and the ATP 500 in Rotterdam.. He only lost to Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000, won by the Spaniard. More clear: In the four tournaments he played he reached the final. In total, he has won 13 titles.
Sinner can well say that the third final was the charm at the Miami Masters 1000. Until this Sunday’s celebration he had lost in 2021 (vs. the Polish Hubert Hurkacz) and in 2023 (vs. the Russian Daniil Medvedev). He found revenge at Hard Rock Stadium, the complex located in the Miami Gardens neighborhood, in the north of the city. He is now 13-4 in tour finals, including 5-1 since October, winning titles at Beijing 2023, Vienna 2023, Australian Open 2024 and Rotterdam 2024, before this afternoon’s one against Dimitrov.
On the side of Dimitrovnumber 3 in the world in 2017, He delivered one of the best performances of his career in the last 12 monthsduring which he has reached five ATP Tour finals (including Masters 1000 title matches in Paris and Miami) and, in January, he broke his six-year drought without winning his ninth tour trophy by winning in Brisbane.
This week beat three rivals from the top 10: Hubert Hurkacz, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, in consecutive matches, to reach their first final in Miami. He played the final with the satisfaction of knowing that he will be again top 10 in the ranking for the first time since October 2018. An also phenomenal level of the call Baby Rogerfor his style similar to that of Federer.
Sinner’s step by step in 2024
With Dimitrov’s return to the top 10, that super-elite group will regain a one-handed backhand representative. Since the end of February, with the departure of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, For the first time no player with the most elegant stroke in tennis was part of the best 10.
Dimitrov was looking for his second Masters 1000 title (Cincinnati, in 2017) and the tenth overall, but Sinner’s level prevented it. His most important trophy was the 2017 Masters tournament. In addition, he aimed to become the first player since Holger Rune at the 2022 Paris Masters 1000 to defeat four top 10s in the same tournament, outside of the ATP Finals. He collided with a talent destined to make history. She is writing.