Daniil Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner 7-5 6-3 in Sunday's final match of Miami Open 2023 and won his fifth career's ATP Masters 1000 title. It is the 19th trophy in ATP competition for Medvedev, who took the lead in 2023 ATP Race rankings.
The final clash was expected to be an absolute spectacle of tennis, as both players approached it as the two, who had the most match wins on their account in 2023 so far. Despite Medvedev having an impressive record of 28 wins to just 3 loses, and his victory over Sinner in their last meeting in final of ATP 500 Rotterdam, the pre-match odds did not indicate the player who was rated as a favorite to claim the trophy on Hard Rock Stadium.
The match started better for Sinner, who defended breakpoint and held service in 2nd game after 4 deuces and moved into the lead by breaking his opponent in 5th game. It was the longest game of the match, as the Italian converted his 5th breakpoint after 5 deuces. He was not able to confirm his advantage tough, as Medvedev broke back in the following game. Second phase of opening set was more calm, as both players were holding serves confidently, but Sinner did not make it into tiebreak, as Medvedev broke him in 12th game, clinching the first set. Second set started on favor for the Russian, who gained the break advantage in 2nd game. Sinner broke back in another game, but Medvedev retook the lead for the score 3-1 and did not slip it away till the end. Sinner was seemingly struggling physically a little bit after all the effort put in this tournament, which helped the US Open 2021 champion to have this match under control in second set, after gaining the decisive advantage.
"I am really happy. Today was a tough match. It was probably the hottest day and the most humid during the day. It were not easy conditions. I do not know if Jannik had a small injury or cramp. I was also struggling, tried not to show it. I have not won such a big title in probably a year and a half. At the end I was quite shaky. Not even tight, because I am not scared to win. But still the hands get a little shaky so the serve is a little bit tougher. I managed to get myself together and close the match." - said the new Miami Open champion in the post-match interview.
It is a stunning bounce back for Medvedev, who slipped down in the rankings in 2022 and started current year with quite a miserable campaign in Australia. The Russian has lost just one match out of 25 played since then, clinching 5 titles in a row. This great run helped him to climb up to 4th place in official ATP rankings, while being unsurpassed best player of the season so far in ATP race ranks. It is intersting now if Medvedev will follow the blow in the following big tournaments, which are being played on his unliked clay surface. Despite losing in Miami Open final for another time and facing another final's defeat against Medvedev, it is also a great time for Sinner. The 21 years-old Italian has moved up into 8th place in the official rankings, and 4th place in ATP Race.
Here are the final's highlights:
