Battle for the crown in Miami

Jannik Sinner is starting to dominate.

The Italian defeated third seed Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semifinals of the Miami Open.

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 in today’s final, who defeated German Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal 6-4, 6-7 (4) and 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.”

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 seed 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.”—AP