Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (12th in the world) dominated German Alexander Zverez (5th) 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 on Friday to join Italian Jannik Sinner in the final of the Masters 1000 in Miami.
At 32, Dimitrov will try to win the second Masters 1000 of his career after Cincinnati in 2017.
His presence in the final ensures that this right-hander with the elegant one-handed backhand will return to the world top-10 from Monday.
Dimitrov, aggressive and precise at the net, had lost his last seven face-to-face with Zverev. He only beat the German in their first match in 2014, when Zverez was 14 years old.
Friday, he was able to convert the two break points he obtained to bring down the 26-year-old German, who was unable to take his opponent’s service once.
In the afternoon, Sinner (3rd player in the world) crushed Russian Daniil Medvedev (4th) 6-1, 6-2 to qualify for the final.
Sinner, 22, triumphed at the Australian Open in January, thanks to a success in the final over the same Medvedev.
In the event of final success, he would become world No. 2 in place of the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the best ranking of his career.
Sinner thus continues his incredible start to the season, where he was beaten only once in 21 meetings, by Alcaraz in the semi-final at Indian Wells two weeks ago.
“I have another chance this year,” Sinner said during the on-field interview after the game. I don’t think he played his best tennis and I tried to stay focused.”
The Italian qualifies for his third final in Miami, a tournament he has not yet won. He was beaten by the Pole Hubert Hurkacz in 2021, then by Daniil Medvedev in 2023.
Since this success, Medvedev has been dominated five times in a row by Sinner, notably in the final of the last major in Australia.
Beaten on his serve from the first game of the two sets, the Russian was constantly put under pressure on his play by Sinner, often appearing disillusioned by the superior level of play of his opponent, who for example broke him from an unthinkable winning comeback at the start of the second set.
Medvedev (28), although a specialist in hard court tournaments, failed to convert the few opportunities left by the Italian (three break points, all saved).
The Russian often turned around to complain to his French coach Gilles Cervara, after several of his unforced errors, sometimes crude, in the second round.
Dabrowski will play for the doubles title
Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe reached the women’s doubles final in Miami on Friday, inflicting a 6-7, 6-4, 10-4 loss on Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks of the United States.
Dabrowski and Routliffe are the second seeds in the tournament.
In the final, they will face an American or Italian pair.
In the evening, Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will compete against Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.
2024-03-30 02:04:00
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