The 27-year-old Russian, who also won in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai in February, succeeds Carlos Alcaraz, who handed him his only defeat in 25 matches two weeks earlier at Indian Wells.

The Spaniard, who failed to succeed in the "Sunshine Double", eliminated in the semifinals by the Italian, will lose his place of world N.1 on Monday, to the benefit of Novak Djokovic, absent in Florida, as in California, because not vaccinated against Covid.

Medvedev wins his fifth Masters 1000 in eight finals in Miami, his 19th trophy overall.

Against the Italian, he had a strong psychological advantage of five wins in as many confrontations. But it was more on the physical level that the sixth was played, because Sinner did not appear on his plate, in a strong humid heat, characteristic of Florida conditions, 36 hours after his great efforts, to bend Alcaraz.

"I guess it must not have been easy to recover after that match," Medvedev said as he addressed him on court afterwards.

"I wasn't in my best shape today when I got up, I felt a little sick," added the Italian.

At the change of service to 4-3, he had to call on the doctor, who gave him pills, which allowed him to continue fighting, but not by recovering full possession of his means.

Dazzling shape

However, he broke the first to lead 3-2, on his fifth opportunity, taking advantage of three double-faults from Medvedev, who had been solid on serve until then. But the latter returned the favor immediately, with his defense outsmarting any opponent, which happened when Sinner fouled first on a long exchange. And the Russian was realistic in the twelfth game, to pocket the first set, when his rival had another empty spell at the worst time.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Italy's Jannik Sinner after the final of the Miami tournament, April 2, 2023 © AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

He took a little more of the lead in the second set, even if, with courage, Sinner managed to break at 2-0. A short-lived respite, because Medvedev immediately put pressure on him to break away again (3-1).

He then did not falter to maintain this advantage until the end, winning in 1:34.

His joy was contained, not failing to address a few words obviously full of empathy for his young opponent, masking his frustration at not having been able to fight on equal terms and who failed on the last step for the second time. In 2021, he lost to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

He will have to wait before finally getting the better of Medvedev, who also deprived him of the title in Rotterdam two months earlier.

The Russian, for his part, maintains a dazzling form, reminiscent of that seen during his triumph at the US Open in 2021.

© 2023 AFP