Lars Hauggaard
Breaking Down Medvedev's First Ever Miami Open
World #5 Medvedev outlasts world #11 Jannik Sinner to extend their head-to-head record to 6-0 in favour of Medvedev.
Daniil Medvedev wins his first ever Miami Open, where he ended up not dropping a set against 21 year old tennis phenom Jannik Sinner, where he secured his fourth ATP title of the year.
Medvedev once again showcased his preference for hard-floored courts, rounding out an impressive tournament overall with wins over Quentin Halys, Christopher Eubanks, Karen Khachanov, and Jannik Sinner throughout the final stages of the tournament. All of this was done while only dropping a set (semifinals vs Khachanov).
Sinner had a similarly impressive tournament, though his record against Medvedev worsened to 6-0, having only conceded a set against tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz. Though the monumental win had the young Italian prevent the even younger world #1 from achieving a Sunshine Double, where one wins an Indian Wells Masters and subsequent Miami Open, many attribute his sluggish play to the war sustained in the semifinals.
The finals itself was a hard-fought battle, though the Russian ended up taking two unanswered sets. The last stretch of the first set was in fact more so one that Sinner lost, as opposed to one that Medvedev won, as a poor serve while down 5-6 led to the initial formation of the gap that would lead to the Russian’s victory.
The last of the two sets, however, was not as competitive as the first, as Medvedev flirted with victory early with a 3-1 lead that eventually led to his first ever Miami Open title.