Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, and qualified for the final of the Masters 1000 in Miami. On Sunday at 9pm Italian time he will challenge the Czech Jiri Lehecka who beat the French Arthur Fils in the other semi-final with a double 6-2.
The Italian number two in the world won in one hour and 53 minutes in a match well played by the German, who was very powerful and precise in his serve, but which saw Sinner prevail in the decisive moments, including a smash sent to the net by the German at 4-4 in the tie-break. Sinner has won 32 consecutive sets in Masters 1000 tournaments: an unprecedented historical record. It is his third final in Miami after the knockout in 2021 and the triumph in 2023. For the blue in his 35th ATP final there is the possibility of hitting his first ‘Sunshine double’ after the triumph in Indian Wells. A success would bring him even closer to Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings.
Sinner achieved his eighth success in 12 matches against Zverev: «It was a very tough match», commented the world number two, «Zverev played incredible tennis. I served very well in the end, especially in crucial moments. I’m very happy, this final means a lot to me.” The opponent in the final will be Jiri Lehecka, who has never won a set in the three previous direct matches. «He is an incredible player», underlined Sinner, «he has demonstrated it not only here, but throughout his career. In the final he will certainly play more freely than me. I’ll try to check everything I can, then we’ll see how it goes.”
“Indian Wells and Miami seem like two completely different tournaments, with different conditions,” he explained, “coming here trying to express good tennis was my main goal, and finding myself in the final again really means a lot to me. Obviously we’ll try to push for a couple of more days, but in any case it was an incredible swing. I couldn’t have done better. So I’m very happy.”
Bolelli-Vavassori and Errani-Paolini: two Italian pairs in the final of the doubles tournaments
In addition to Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles, there will be two Italian pairs in the final in the doubles tournaments. Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli, seeded no. 7, in fact overcame the Dutchman Sander Arends and the Australian John Patrick Smith in the semi-final with a final score of 6-3, 6-4. Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani qualified thanks to the withdrawal of the Belgian Elise Mertens, paired with the Chinese Zhang Shuai, suffering from chest pain with a score of 2-1 for the Italians in the first set. Both doubles finals are scheduled for today, in the Italian afternoon.
In their 15th final as a couple and the first in a Masters, Bolelli and Vavassori will hunt for their ninth title, the second of the season after the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. And they will face the Finnish Harri Heliovaara and the British Henri Patten who beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-2, 6-3, and are ahead 5-1 in their matches against the Italians.
Errani and Paolini will find the winners of the Indian Wells tournament, the number two pair on the draw formed by the Czech Katerina Siniakova and the American Taylor Townsend who defeated the Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and the Brazilian Luisa Stefani 4-6, 6-4, 10-3, in one hour and 37 minutes.