Last Updated:
Jannik Sinner makes history with a flawless Sunshine Double, defeating Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final and closing in on Carlos Alcaraz for world number one.
Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning a point against Jiri Lehecka (Picture credit: AP)
Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner on Sunday, March 29, created history to become the first player, male or female, to win the Sunshine Double without dropping a single set, after he thrashed Jiri Lehecka in straight sets in the final of the Miami Open.
Sinner battled through rain interruptions before and during the match to complete his Sunshine Double, becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to sweep the California and Florida hard-court events and the first ever to do so without dropping a set.
In fact, Sinner, who won Miami in 2024 but missed the following edition because of a three-month doping ban, has now strung together three successive Masters 1000 titles, a run that started with his win in Paris last year.
Also, since 1990, Sinner is the third player to win his first seven ATP Masters 1000 titles on a single surface, after Michael Chang and Andy Murray, both having achieved the feat on hard court.
“It is a very, very special moment. Coming here, performing again in a very good way after Indian Wells, means a lot to me. It is something I never would have thought (I’d win) because it is difficult to achieve,” Sinner said after the match.
Sinner’s win, along with Aryna Sabalenka’s victory over Coco Gauff, marks the first time since Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka in 2016 that both the men’s and women’s Sunshine Double have been completed in the same year.
It also saw Sinner gain a bit on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who was upset in the third round, in the race for world number one as the clay court season beckons.
Early showers delayed the match by over an hour and just after Sinner took the first set, rain struck again, forcing a further 90-minute stoppage.
It was not enough to unsettle Sinner, who fired 10 aces and won 33 of 36 points when he put his first serve in play.
Sinner’s return game was also spot on as he handed Lehecka his first service break of the tournament for a 2-1 lead in the opening frame.
March 30, 2026, 10:15 IST
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
