It worked on the third try. Sinner outclassed Dimitrov in Miami and won his second Masters trophy

Dimitrov – Sinner 3:6, 1:6

Jannik Sinner may not have been completely convincing in the opening three matches at this year’s Miami Open, he even had to turn the fight with Tallon Griekspoor, but he prepared his best form for the final rounds. He didn’t give Tomáš Macháč a chance in the quarter-finals, in a repeat of last year’s final he swept away defending champion Daniil Medvedev and in the final he masterfully dealt with the hot-tempered Grigor Dimitrov.

The champion of the Australian Open in January faced a break point in the fourth game and after its liquidation he dominated the court. In the very next game, he broke through the serve of the Bulgarian number one with a great throw and earned two break points in the following two games on the receiving end. He ended the opening act with another break.

In the end, the actors entertained the audience for only an hour and a quarter. The second set was also completely directed by the favored Sinner and lasted only 31 minutes. In it, the Italian lost only three points on his own serve and used both break point opportunities.

Sinner won 22 out of 23 duels this year and managed his third final of the season, after winning the first Grand Slam title, he also dominated the indoor 500 in Rotterdam and now the Masters event in Miami. He has been in the form of his life since last year’s US Open and has won 42 of 45 matches, losing only to Ben Shelton at the Shanghai Masters, Novak Djokovic in the Masters final and Carlos Alcaraz at the Indian Wells Masters.

He is the first Italian champion in the history of the Miami Open. He played the final in this venue for the third time, in 2021 he was not good enough for Hubert Hurkacz and last year he lost to Medvedev. He now has two laurels from the Masters, the first one he enjoyed last August in Toronto. He improved his excellent final record on the highest circuit to 13:4. On Monday, he will move to the post of world number two for the first time and improve his ranking maximum.

“Grigor, it’s great that you’re playing at such a high level again. You’ve been working hard, sometimes we train together in Monaco. It’s a pleasure not only to play with you, but also to learn from you. Thank you so much for everything. You have an incredible team and that’s why you made it to the final here,” said Sinner. “I performed very well today. I’m proud of how I managed the final.”

Match statistics. (@livesport)

Last year, after several years of suffering, Dimitrov restarted his career and celebrated his first title since the 2017 Tournament of Champions in Brisbane in January. A few days ago, he completed the quarter-finals in all nine events of the Masters series, he is only missing a clay court to reach the complete collection of semi-finals at these events Madrid.

He knocked out former champions Hurkacz and Alcaraz and 2018 finalist Alexander Zverev in Miami. By advancing to his third final at the Masters, he secured a return to the TOP 10 ranking, in which he last appeared in 2018. He worsened his final record to 9:11 (1:2 this year), until now he reigned at the Masters only in Cincinnati 2017.

“First of all, I want to congratulate Jannik and his team, you are excelling this year. Your tennis is a joy to watch, but playing against you is not so much fun anymore.” joked Dimitrov during the ceremony. “I’ve never done well in this tournament, but this year I did maybe too well. When I look at my box, I feel like a winner.”

Results of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami

The article was originally published for Livesport Zprávy.