Miami Open: Medvedev beats Sinner in straight sets

SPORTS

Medvedev beats Sinner in straight sets for Miami Open title

Marc Berman

Published Sunday, April 2, 2023 4:00PM EDT

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, poses with his trophy after beating Jannik Sinner, of Italy, 7-5, 6-3, during the men's singles finals of the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. -- Daniil Medvedev captured his fourth ATP title of the year on Sunday, beating Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 for the Miami Open men's singles title and to move to 6-0 in their career matchup.

Medvedev is now the most sizzling player on the men's tour, winning 24 of his last 25 matches after his 1-hour, 34-minute triumph. His only loss has come against world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in last week's final at Indian Wells.

Sinner ran out of magic, with his three-hour win late Friday night over Alcaraz in the semifinals -- when he had mild cramping in the second set -- looking to have taken a toll on the 21-year-old Italian.

Sinner was visited by an ATP trainer midway through the first set Sunday. During the changeover at 4-3, Sinner received a packet of powder that he dumped into a water bottle to drink.

"Woke up this morning not at my best -- a little bit sick," Sinner said during the post-match ceremony, acknowledging that the crowd was behind him. "Thanks for the support. You gave me a lot of energy. Unfortunately, I couldn't play at my best."

Serving 5-6 in the first set, Sinner didn't have any dazzle left and played a ragged game as Medvedev broke him to close out the first set. At 15-30, Sinner shanked a backhand that went long, then fired a forehand bullet into the top of the net to end the one-hour first set.

While Medvedev has won titles this year in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, this is the Russian's first title on American soil since the 2021 U.S. Open, when he derailed Novak Djokovic's bid for a Grand Slam.

Before a crowd that included a handful of celebrities, including Jon Bon Jovi, Medvedev won the first 12 points on his serve. The Russian won his first two service games at love and got up 30-0 in his third one before Sinner started to feel his way back into the match. Sinner rallied to break Medvedev, needing five break points to pull it off.

Medvedev came up with service winners to stave off the first three break points, then hit a backhand winner to survive the fourth. Sinner stayed relentless and finally broke him with a deft forehand volley winner.

Medvedev showed his mettle by breaking Sinner right back to even the first set at 3-3. On break point, Medvedev won a 20-stroke rally as Sinner's forehand clipped the netcord and bounced in the doubles alley.

Then Medvedev broke Sinner at 6-5 and twice broke Sinner's serve in the second set.