(Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev beat Italy’s Jannik Sinner 7-5 6-3 to win the Miami Open on Sunday for his fourth title of the year and 19th overall.
The jubilant fourth seed pumped his fist after pounding an unreturnable serve on match point to seal the win on a hot and humid day at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida.
Medvedev was playing in his fifth consecutive final after triumphs in Doha, Rotterdam and Dubai before finishing runner-up at Indian Wells last month.
Sinner took an early lead when he grabbed the first service break of the match with a shoestring volley for a 3-2 lead.
But as he would all day long, Medvedev answered right back, breaking to level at 3-3 when Sinner’s forehand hit the net cord and landed out of bounds.
Sinner, 21, appeared to struggle in the sweltering conditions and called on the trainer for some assistance before eighth game.
Serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Sinner shanked a backhand that gave Medvedev two set point opportunities and he converted the first one when the Italian 10th seed’s errant forehand found the net.
Medvedev broke Sinner for 3-1 in the second set and cruised from there, his powerful groundstrokes and impenetrable defence carrying him to the finish.
With the win Medvedev improved to 6-0 lifetime against Sinner, who also made the Miami final in 2021 and is still searching for his first Masters 1000 title.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
