Jannik Sinner eyeing up stunning rankings breakthrough as he targets Miami Open glory
Jannik Sinner is the form player of 2024 and he may be about to get another reward for his stunning form if he wins the Miami Open final against Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday.
Sinner produced a stunning performance to demolish defending champion Daniil Medvedev and reach the Miami Open final, with this run in Florida backing up his sparkling displays as he won the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open in the opening two months of this year.
His only defeat this year came against Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals at Indian Wells, with the Italian Davis Cup hero Sinner set to leap up to No 2 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career if he lifts the Miami Open title.
It would be a fitting reward for the 22-year-old who has taken his game to the next level in recent months, with improvements to his serve and forehand moving him up a couple of levels.
Now he is the most consistent player on the ATP Tour, with Alcaraz’s defeat against Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open offering Sinner a chance to overhaul him in the rankings.
When asked how he sums up his start to the year, the humble Sinner offered up a typically polite response.
“I am surprised, for sure,” he said. “I mean, it’s something I was not expecting, for sure.
“You know, it also shows that I take everything day by day, and that’s what’s happening, it’s happening. You cannot really control everything. You just can control the emotions, the will to improve day by day, and that’s it.
READ MORE: Daniil Medvedev reveals how it feels to be battered into submission by Jannik Sinner
“For sure I’m really happy about the season I’m playing in. Who would not be happy? But in the other way, I know that the players get to know me more. They study me so I have to be ready.
“I was struggling earlier in this tournament, as we saw, and it also shows that every day is different, no? Maybe on Sunday I will not feel great. I don’t know what will be happening, but it’s just day by day.”
Sinner admitted he didn’t sleep the night before his first Miami Open final in 2021, but he is more confident in his abilities as he looks to lift the title for the first tim e in his third Miami final.
“I still remember the night that, you know, I couldn’t sleep because, you know, I was not sure if I could get back in this position again,” he added.
“So for me was like even if I was really young and able to make this final, I was, like, who knows if I can be again in a final? Like, back in the days. I remember that the draw was opening. So I just took the chance, and I saw myself in the final.
“Now I’m more sure that I can make it. It doesn’t mean that I have to make it, but it’s a different feeling. I just take it very relaxed.
“I’m happy how me and my team are because we watch the results, of course, but we try to improve, trying to improve throughout the tournaments, which means Indian Wells was one thing and here is a different thing.
“In my mind, I know that this is the last hard court tournament before going to clay. I just try to finish it off in a good way.”
Sinner was ranked outside of the world’s top ten prior to his run to the Miami Open final last year, where he lost to Medvedev.
Now Sinner is emerging as the player most likely to knock Novak Djokovic off the world No 1 spot, as he does not have a huge haul of points to defend from 2023 heading into the European clay court season that gets underway in a couple of weeks.
