Sinner races to Miami Open final with win over Medvedev, will face Dimitrov on Sunday

Jannik Sinner, the red-haired Italian who once had dreams of being a ski racer, carved through Daniil Medvedev’s game like an expert skier Friday afternoon, cruising into the Miami Open final with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in just over an hour.

An unusually large crowd for a Friday was at Hard Rock Stadium for the highly anticipated showdown, including some Sinner fans dressed in carrot costumes. A group of Italian fans calling themselves the “Carota Boys” started the fad last year, showing up at matches wearing carrot hats and costumes. Carota is the Italian word for carrot, Sinner has red hair, and was once seen snacking on a carrot during a changeover.

They were delighted with his dominance on a picture-perfect Good Friday.

Sinner, the No. 2 seed, has now beaten Medvedev five times in a row after losing six consecutive matches to the third-seeded Russian. Sinner had most recently beaten Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open final, a match that went five sets.

The two also faced each other in the 2023 Miami Open final, which Medvedev won, the Russian’s last win over the Italian.

“I played very solid (Friday), especially in the beginning of the sets and I’m just trying to enjoy this moment, for me it’s the third time that I can play the final here in Miami, which is an amazing achievement for me and hopefully I can lift once the bigger trophy,” Sinner said.

He added that he didn’t think Medvedev was in his best form.

“I think Daniil didn’t feel too well today, he made a lot of mistakes he usually doesn’t make, so I just took a chance,” Sinner said. “I was expecting a really tough match, if he breaks me first set or second set it’s much different.”

Medvedev was asked how Sinner has changed from the Miami Open final a year ago. He responded: “He misses less, he chooses his shots more wisely. He serves 10 times better. Jannik was always serving well, but now he serves big, big. I wonder how he did it because the serve is not that easy a shot to work on and his serve is a big improvement.”

Sinner’s final opponent Sunday will be No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who followed his upset of top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 semifinal win over No. 4 Alexander Zverev Friday night.

Unlike the match against Alcaraz, which he won with relative ease, Dimtrov had to work hard to get past the big-serving Zverev. Serena Williams was among the spectators at stadium court.

“It was a dogfight on both ends,” Dimitrov said. “Sasha (Zverev’s nickname) was very, very strong in the second set, and the tiebreaker, he put a lot of pressure on me. I played with more authority in the third.”

With the win, Dimitrov returns to the Top 10 for the first time since 2018.

“I run my own race now, that comes with all the work we have put in over the years,” he said. “I kept on believing in myself, having faith in myself, and when I didn’t believe in myself enough, my family and close friends and the team around me kept pushing me in the right direction.”

Sinner has said the Miami Open is a special tournament for him because it was the first place he reached a Masters 1000-level final. It was 2021, and Sinner, then 19, lost to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. The final was held on the Grandstand court because it was a reduced capacity event due to COVID.

Asked to compare reaching that final and this one, Sinner said he is “a different player, a different person” now and he remembers not being able to sleep the night before that 2021 final.

“I was sweating during the night. Now I handle the situation much, much better. I’m just excited and happy to come back and hopefully I can play some good tennis Sunday.”

Sinner is the highest ranked Italian men’s player in history and first Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly a half century. The last Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open.

Sinner made his first big splash in 2020, reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open in his debut.

He grew up in the German-speaking part of the Italian Alps. His parents worked at a ski lodge where his father, Johann, was a chef and his mother, Siglinde, was a waitress.

As a boy, Sinner dabbled in soccer and excelled as a junior skier but chose to focus on tennis. When he won the Australian Open earlier this year, he thanked his parents during his trophy ceremony.

“I wish everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted to, even when I was younger,” he said. “I made also some other sports and they never put pressure on me, and I wish this freedom is possible for as many young kids as possible. Thank you so much to my parents.”

The 22-year-old Italian leads the ATP in wins this season with 21, losing just once to Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells.

In addition to his success on the court the past week, Sinner has been enjoying his time in South Florida. He was at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday to watch the Italian national soccer team, the Azzurri, in a friendly against Venezuela.

“For sure I’m really happy about the season I’m playing, who wouldn’t be happy, but I know the players get to know me more, they study me, so I have to be ready,” he said.

Canadians beat Americans in women’s doubles

In women’s doubles, Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe defeated the American team of Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-4 in the semifinals.

Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were scheduled to play Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States in the other semifinal later Friday.

UM women beat Boston College

The No. 21 University of Miami women’s tennis team beat Boston College 5-2 at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday evening.

The Hurricanes (7-4, 5-2 ACC) played on site at the Miami Open for the second year in a row. They won the doubles point over BC and then got four singles wins to secure the team victory.

Isabella Pfennig and Xinyi Nong dominated Marice Aguiar and Stephanie Sanchez 6-1. Boston College’s Seren Agar and Nada Dimovska won 6-2 over Antonia Balzert and Leonie Schuknecht to tie up the doubles portion.

Alexa Noel and Audrey Boch-Collins clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Natalie Eordekian and Tola Glowacka to send Miami into singles with an advantage.

Noel, Boch-Collins, Leonie Schuknecht, and Pfennig won their singles matches.