Italy’s rising star, Jannik Sinner, clinched the ATP Miami Open Masters 1000 title on Sunday with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling final at Hard Rock Stadium.
This triumph marks Sinner’s third title of the season and propels him to a career-high second place in the ATP world rankings, surpassing Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner’s performance was nothing short of sensational, displaying an ice-cool demeanor, minimizing errors and striking winners with unwavering confidence. His mastery on the court suggests that a future battle for the top spot alongside Alcaraz awaits, once Novak Djokovic relinquishes his reign.
Ending the hard court season on a high, Sinner has now won an impressive 25 of his last 26 matches, with his only defeat coming against Alcaraz in the semifinal of Indian Wells.
Adding the Miami title to his already impressive collection, which includes victories at the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Indoors earlier this year, Sinner’s dominance was evident as he wrapped up the final in just 72 minutes.
He took control early on, breaking Dimitrov in the fifth game of the first set and facing only one break point throughout the entire match.
“As this tournament went on, I felt better and better. Today’s performance was really good. I’m just proud of how I handled the situation,” Sinner said.
“I started the season really, really well. I never thought I would start like this. Being number two is an amazing feeling.”
Sinner clinched the first set with his second break, a brilliant backhand down the line that brought spectators to their feet.
Dimitrov, with his trademark one-handed backhand strokes and willingness to go to the net, enjoyed plenty of support from the home crowd, but Sinner’s calm approach and pristine technique proved too much for him.
The Italian broke in the second set to go 3-1 up, and with his serve strong and returns rock solid, it was a procession to victory from that point.
Sinner’s Australian co-coach, Darren Cahill, whose past pupils include Andre Agassi and Simona Halep, was hugely impressed with the way his player approached the match.
“I thought he was incredible today, barely any unforced errors, kept a great depth and kept it difficult for Grigor to win points. If Grigor did win points, he did so with spectacular tennis,” Cahill said.
“He made Grigor force a lot and take a lot of risks, and when he’s doing that, I know Jannik is playing the right way. Tactically, I thought he was great today.”
Dimitrov had no doubt he had lost to a man in supreme form.
“I think at the moment clearly Jannik is playing outstanding tennis. There is nothing to say to that. You see how focused he is, how determined he is, the way he’s hitting his shots, there is zero doubt,” said Dimitrov.
“Can he play any better? I don’t know. He’s the one to show that. But at the moment he has been able to really put so many matches back to back with the same level, so all credit goes to him.
“And he’s the best player right now in the world.”
The Italian’s title came in his third appearance in a Miami final – he lost to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and Daniil Medvedev last year.
Sinner’s previous Masters 1000 title came in Toronto in 2023.
Dimitrov will return to the top 10 in Monday’s rankings for the first time since October 2018.
The 32-year-old’s run to the Miami final included a quarter-final win over Alcaraz and a semi-final victory over world number five Alexander Zverev.
“I just want to focus on the positives this week,” he said. “I was extremely determined throughout the whole week.
“Clearly it’s Jannik’s week. He has been playing amazing tennis. It’s really impressive how he’s been able to keep that way of playing.
“I don’t think I have much time to be down on myself. I just want to embrace this moment as well. Just as you win, you need to be able to handle (losing) matches like that, I think, even better than winning those type of matches.”
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