March 27 (Reuters) – Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) on Friday to reach the Miami Open final, where the Italian will be a heavy favourite to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ following his triumph in Indian Wells earlier this month.
World number two Sinner, who will play Czech Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final, roared “Let’s go!” after the German failed to put his powerful serve back in play on match point.
“It has been an incredible swing,” said four-times Grand Slam champion Sinner, who picked up his 16th consecutive Masters 1000 match victory.
“I’ve been trying to play as many matches as possible and I couldn’t do any better. Today was a very tough encounter, he played some incredible tennis, but I was serving very well, especially in the end and in the crucial moments.”
Sinner is now one win away from becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ by winning at Indian Wells in the California desert and the Miami Open in South Florida in the same season.
It could be a double Sunshine Double this year as world number one and Indian Wells champion Aryna Sabalenka will play Coco Gauff for the women’s title on Saturday.
Earlier, Lehecka, 24, dismantled Arthur Fils 6-2 6-2 in just 75 minutes to reach his first Masters 1000 final.
Lehecka broke the 21-year-old Frenchman early and never relinquishing his grip on the match.
Fils briefly threatened a revival at the start of the second set but he struggled with consistency and committed a total of 21 unforced errors to Lehecka’s 14, with three double faults.
“I’m very excited that I’m in a final, definitely one of my goals, but at the same time it’s just a sport, there are more important things going on in the world right now. I’m just trying to do what I do best,” Lehecka said.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; editing by Clare Fallon and Peter Rutherford)
