Miami Tournament | Jannik Sinner, the champion who plays like one

Few players in recent years have dominated men’s tennis like Jannik Sinner is doing. However, the young Italian seems to have little regard for his resounding success.

” Hello everybody. Happy Easter,” said the winner of the Miami Masters 1000 on Sunday, holding the microphone stand with both hands in the center of Hard Rock Stadium, embarrassed like a primary school student in the middle of an oral presentation.

This final against Grigor Dimitrov, won in two sets of 6-3 and 6-1, will certainly not go down in history. The winner, however, has what it takes to keep future generations talking about him.

Sinner made short work of his rival. It was almost perfect. A masterclass offered to everyone on how to handle a final and, above all, how to become a leading authority in your field.

Thanks to his third coronation of the season, Sinner will climb to second place in the world rankings on Monday. He will be ahead of Carlos Alcaraz. Not so long ago, people were talking about him as a star in the making. But the future is now.

The genius of adaptation

What all great champions have in common is the ability to adapt in the middle of a match. And Sinner is no exception.

The start of his meeting was very surprising. Best returner on the circuit, the 22-year-old sensation was unable to put Dimitrov’s services back into play. Even his offerings in the second ball. In his first two games back, he was shut out. Plus, his forehand was out of tune like a grand piano found at the bottom of a wreck.

Sinner lined up to bow out for the third time in four years in the final in Miami.

However, the winner of the most recent Australian Open has recovered in fine fashion. In the middle of the round, once Dimitrov was broken, he found his bearings. His balls were longer, heavier, and his opponent’s one-handed backhand didn’t hold up.

Twice, Sinner broke Dimitrov with passing passes. Its poetic and varied game patterns were undoubtedly enough to provoke a few tears of satisfaction among the most purist supporters.

In the first innings, Sinner posted a 100% success rate on the number of points won in the first ball. He completed the meeting at 88%. He offered a single break opportunity to his opponent.

It’s not difficult to understand, seeing him play, why he will start the clay court season with only one defeat on his record.

“It’s truly a privilege to watch you play,” Dimitrov said, watching Sinner. But it’s definitely less so when I play against you! »

The return of Dimitrov

Few fans were to have Dimitrov’s return in the top 10 on their bingo card in 2024. But Baby Federer imitates his model by becoming better from year to year.

This final probably did not go as he had hoped, but he will be ninth in the standings on Monday morning. A first breakthrough in top 10 for the Bulgarian since October 29, 2018.

Before his title in Brisbane at the start of January, he had not added a trophy to his collection since the 2017 season.

But by focusing on more power and doing what was necessary to adapt to the speed and speed of execution of the younger players, the 32-year-old managed to defeat Hubert Hurkacz (8), Carlos Alcaraz (1) and Alexander Zverev (4) in quick succession to reach the third Masters 1000 final of his career.

It was especially his unforced errors at certain key moments, notably on the backhand, his second balls and his inability to protect his serve on break point which harmed him in his quest to get his 10^e title.

Between two chairs

Unfortunately for the former world number three, his career will have fallen between two chairs, in a way.

His enthusiasm at the start of his career was hampered by the monopoly of Big Three and his maturity at the end of his career is insufficient to surpass the young guns who have stormed to the top of the rankings.

Still, fans will celebrate Dimitrov and get behind him for as long as he remains active. His graceful style of play and his agility to hit balls in all circumstances with disconcerting ease and softness still make him one of the favorites. The encouragement towards him in the center forced the referee to intervene on a few occasions. And the applause prevented him from starting his post-match speech.

But it was Sinner who had the last word, on the field and on the microphone.

The Italian therefore continues his momentum. Although, by his own admission, he had “struggles at the start of tournaments”, he reached another final in 2024. He lost before the big match in only one tournament this season, at Indian Wells , two weeks ago, in front of Alcaraz.

His rise to the top was made without the slightest misstep. Almost unbeatable since the fall, Sinner had a hard time celebrating after his very last winning setback.

Probably because the work isn’t finished yet. The next step in his case is the top of the rankings and the world number one spot. And it is very bad faith who doubts that he will achieve this before a long time.