Masters 1000 Miami, bitter final for Sinner: defeated (again) 7-5 6-3 by the Russian Medvedev

Jannik Sinner bumps into taboo again Daniil Medvedev. Ends with a loss for 7-5 6-3 the final of Masters 1000 in Miami between the South Tyrolean and the Russian number 5 in the world. An outcome that follows that of the other five direct clashes between the two. The first conquest of a 1000 by Sinner must therefore wait. For Russian, on the other hand, it is the title number 19 in his careerthe first in Florida, the fourth in 2023. A winning streak capable of pushing him back to number 4 in the world and strengthening his leadership in the Race for Turin.

The beginning for the blue is full of tension. First shift and it’s already time to save a break point before laboriously holding the serve. However, it is a moment: Sinner immediately raises the pace of his game and breaks the balance on the fifth available occasion with a delicate one stolen low: 3-2. Medvedev’s reaction is immediate. Controbreak and new parity. A trend that ends with two gratuitous mistakes by the South Tyrolean. One reverse and one forehand. Medvedev thanks and takes home the first set for 7-5. The outcome has repercussions on the start of the second set. Medvedev builds immediately tre palle break consecutive and takes advantage of the second to give a decisive push to the game. Sinner’s reaction this time comes: the counterbreak, however, turns out to be a flash in the pan. Medvedev raises a block from the baseline again and in the end breaks the Italian again, this time definitively. The former US Open champion makes no more mistakes in his service and closes with a first serve and a return from Sinner that ended up on the net.

A bitter defeat for Sinner, which however absolutely does not resize done in this beginning of 2023. On the contrary. The feeling for the rest of the season could not be more positive. The second defeat in the final in Miami came at the end of a parable that began with the defeat in the fifth set at the Australian Open in the round of 16 against Stefanos Tsitsipasto then move on from the title in the 250 Montpellier, from the final in the ATP 500 in Rotterdam (again defeated against Medvedev), from the first Italian semifinal in Indian Wells and finally from the victory against Carlos Alcaraz in Miami, the first in his career against a number 1 of the world.

But there are not only the results to explain the change made by Sinner in these first three months. The increased mental strength has been accompanied by a remarkable growth in terms of physical and athletic. And then there is the technique. The work of Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill (the coach who brought Simona Halep to the top of the WTA and Grand Slam successes) gave the blue new tactical solutions. Net forays that previously seemed daring and not very effective have now become aoften ultimate weapon. Just as constant and precise are the game on the net and short balls. Reasons to smile also abound when looking at the rankings: in the ranking the blue is back in top 10, ranked number 9 in the world. In the Race, the leap is even more impressive: the 600 points in this final launch Sinner at number 4, less than 200 points from the top 3. In short, the season on clay could not have had better premises. And within this there is not only Roland Garros, but also those Internationals of Italy of Rome who have been waiting for an Italian winner since 1976.