MIAMI: Daniil Medvedev continued his blistering form to claim his maiden Miami Open title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Jannik Sinner on Sunday in Miami.
Sinner made a strong start and took the lead by finishing a drawn-out match with a challenging drop volley, but Medvedev responded quickly by displaying his range from the baseline and forcing errors from the Italian. As Medvedev used his range to keep Sinner behind the baseline while Sinner had success attacking early, the 10th seed was eventually worn down by Medvedev’s consistency and well-timed aggressiveness.
On a four-game run from 5-5 in the first set, Medvedev gained control of the match by fully capitalising on Sinner’s errant groundstrokes. Sinner mustered the strength to break back for 1-2 despite looking physically exhausted from his thrilling semifinal victory over Alcaraz, only to have Medvedev re-establish his lead at 3-1.
Although Sinner generated five break points in the fifth game of set one, the fourth seed did not face a break point the rest of the match, and Medvedev easily served his way to victory as he completed the triumph in one hour and 34 minutes.
“I’m really happy. Today was a tough match. It was probably the hottest day and the most humid during the day. It was not easy conditions. I don’t know if Jannik had a small injury or cramp. I was also struggling, tried not to show it,” ATP.com quoted Medvedev as saying.
He will move up to No. 4 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.
“I haven’t won’t such a big title in probably a year and a half. At the end I was quite shaky. Not even tight, because I’m not scared to win. But still the hands get a little shaky so the serve is a little bit tougher… I managed to get myself together and close the match,” he added.
The 27-year-old Medvedev became the first man to reach back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 finals since Djokovic in 2020 by winning both the Indian Wells and Miami finals this year. His 29 victories this year are the most on the ATP Tour. (ANI)