Jannik Sinner produced another masterclass under the South Florida lights Friday night, defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4) to advance to the Miami Open final and move one step closer to a feat no man has achieved in nearly a decade.
With the victory, Sinner is now one win away from becoming just the eighth player in ATP Tour history to claim the Sunshine Double — winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same season — a feat last accomplished by Roger Federer in 2017. Remarkably, the Italian has not dropped a single set across his 11 matches on American hard courts this spring.
Sinner’s serve was the decisive weapon throughout. He fired 15 aces to Zverev’s five and won 79 percent of his first-serve points, while converting one of four break opportunities and saving both break points he faced.
The opening set followed a familiar Sinner script. After facing an early break point in the third game, Sinner responded by lifting his aggression and pouncing on a brief dip in Zverev’s first-serve percentage, breaking to lead 3-1 and never relinquishing control.
The second set offered more resistance. Zverev dug deep at 4-4, fending off two break points to keep the set level and force a tiebreak. But it was Sinner who seized the critical moment, moving ahead 5-4 after Zverev mishit an overhead, closing out the match from there.
“Today has been a tough encounter,” Sinner said courtside. “He played some incredible tennis, so I was serving very well in the end, especially in the crucial moments.”
The result extended Sinner’s winning streak against Zverev to seven straight matches and pushed his head-to-head lead to 8-4. It is a rivalry that has flipped entirely — Zverev once held four consecutive wins over the Italian between 2020 and 2023, but has not beaten him since.
Sinner is also riding a stunning run of 30 consecutive sets won at the Masters 1000 level, a streak that dates back to his title run at the Rolex Paris Masters last November.
Sunday’s final opponent will be Jiri Lehecka, who dismantled Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 to reach his first Masters 1000 final. Sinner holds a 3-0 head-to-head advantage over the Czech, including a straight-sets win at Roland Garros last year.
Lehecka has punched well above his seeding throughout the fortnight — his third-round win over Taylor Fritz was his ninth career top-ten victory — and will depart Miami with a new career-high ranking regardless of the final result. But standing between him and a maiden Masters title is the most dominant force on hard courts in the world.
“Standing here again, in the final, means very, very much to me,” Sinner said. If Sunday goes his way, it will mean something to the history books too.
The Miami Open men’s singles final takes place Sunday, March 29 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens
