Daniil Medvedev Takes On Jannik Sinner In Miami

The finals of the second masters 1000 event of the year takes place tonight between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open in Florida. 

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Daniil is in his fifth consecutive finals on tour and he won 3 of the last 4. He lost his last finals just 2 weeks ago against Carlos Alcaraz, who broke his 20-match win streak. Now Daniil is back in another final. Daniil fought past Karen Khachanov in 3 sets 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 at the semifinals to secure his spot in the finals.

Jannik Sinner also played well this season with a 16-4 win-loss record. He came back from a set down in the semifinals to beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to secure a spot in the finals after losing their last two meetings. They are now tied 3-3 in the head2head. 

Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner last met at the finals in Rotterdam where Medvedev won in 3 sets 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Daniil currently leads their head2head, overwhelmingly winning all five of their last meetings. Medvedev is looking to be the fresher one on the court having played just 9 sets this tournament due to a walkover in the round of 32 while Sinner played 11 sets. 

Sinner has to try to serve and volley and take full advantage of Medvedev's service return position to win. It is difficult to out rally Medvedev from the baseline given his incredible defense from the back of the court. However, with the quality of Sinner’s backhand and forehand in Miami he may be able to hold off his opponent. The world No. 11 may stand a chance against the No.5 if he manages to force some errors out of his opponent at the net. 

Given the track record of their last five meetings, it seems like the Russian is likely to extend his lead against the Italian. However, I am expecting a close 3-set match between the players and I most definitely hope that Jannik scores his first win against Daniil and claims his first masters 1000 title of the year.