MIAMI GARDENS-. Jannik Sinner is starting to dominate. The Italian defeated third-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 in the Miami Open semifinals on Friday.
Sinner, second seed and who is solid with his forehand, became the first man to reach the Miami final in consecutive years since John Isner (2018-19). In last year's final, Medvedev beat Sinner at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
Sinner gained revenge by beating Medvedev in the Australian Open final in January after trailing by two sets, setting the stage for an extraordinary 2024 campaign.
Sinner will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (11th seed) in Sunday's final, who defeated German Alexander Zverev (4th) in the other semifinal 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4.
The duel against Medvedev was easier than the one in Australia, at 26 degrees Celsius and the Italian went up 5-0 with two consecutive breaks on the Russian's serve. The duel ended in 69 minutes.
“This year I have another opportunity,” Sinner said in the on-court interview. “I don't think he played his best tennis and I tried to stay focused and in rhythm.”
After breaking Medvedev's serve four times in the match, Sinner now has a 2-1 record in 2024; His only setback was the Indian Wells final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev came into Friday's match with a 7-1 head-to-head series lead over Dimitrov. The Bulgarian's only victory, prior to this, had been in 2014.
Dimitrov beat first-seeded Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The 20-year-old Spaniard said about Dimitrov that “he played great tennis, almost perfect. “I didn't find a solution.”
The women's final takes place this Saturday between the American Danielle Collins and Elena Rybakina (4).
