On Sunday, Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 to win the Miami Open title for the first time in his career, his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and his 19th ATP title overall.
Medvedev continues to make the argument that he is arguably the best player of his generation. His 19 titles have come in the form of 19 different tournaments, an unbelievable achievement in the sport of tennis.
Medvedev’s incredible run of performances have spanned across three different continents, winning four titles and reaching five different finals in consecutive weeks. He also boasts an astounding record of 24-1 in his last 25 matches and made his return to the top four of the ATP rankings.
In the final of the Miami Open, Medvedev would take on an opponent in the best form of his career. Jannik Sinner was coming off a semi-final run in Indian Wells and made his way to another semi-final in Miami without dropping a set until defeating Carlos Alcaraz in three, which would punch his ticked to the Miami final.
The final match was set and another mightily difficult opponent was looming once again for Sinner. It was against Medvedev, who already had a 5-0 record against Sinner before Sunday. The Russian has proved to be a nightmare of a match-up for Sinner throughout his career.
Medvedev would quickly pull Sinner into long, slow rallies, testing his fortitude as he tried to evoke as much blunders as possible. Medvedev would come out of the first break with three double-faults, he responded by cutting mistakes and constantly capitalizing on errors from Sinner with his defense, as he would force Sinner to work twice as hard. Medvedev would land every return deep, never missing and eventually taking down a frustrated Sinner to take the first set, 7-5.
The first set was secured and Medvedev would practically coast on to a victory and title in the second. Medvedev’s serving, consistency and tennis IQ were too much. Sinner struggled and would attempt to fight until the end, trying to shorten the deficit and chase down the net, but Medvedev held on, 6-3.