Over the past year, the confrontation between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner has become one of the most discussed on the ATP tour. Since February 2023, the paths of tennis players have crossed six times, and in five cases - at the decisive stages of the competition. It was in their duel that the winner of the trophy of tournaments in Rotterdam, Miami, Beijing, Vienna, as well as the winner of the Australian Open in Melbourne, was determined. And although at first it was the Russian who held the initiative, it later passed to the Italian, who won four victories in a row over his opponent.
Once again, fate brought them together in the semifinals of the Masters in Miami - the same one where a year ago Medvedev crushed Sinner in two games (7:5, 6:3). But this time the balance of power was different. Daniil not only approached this head-to-head meeting as a clear outsider, as evidenced by the bookmakers’ quotes, but also for the first time occupied a lower position in the ATP rankings. And it seemed as if the Russian himself did not really believe in success. At the press conference, he admired the Italian’s progress, called him a champion and admitted that breaking the losing streak would be extremely difficult. At the same time, Yannick was more motivated than ever. After all, if he won the trophy in Miami, he would bypass Carlos Alcaraz, who suffered a fiasco in a duel with Grigor Dimitrov, and become the second racket of the world.
Unfortunately, the forecasts began to come true from the very beginning. Medvedev was very active and tried to act as number one - to meet the serve a couple of meters from the baseline and regularly enter the court. And thus he reminded of his duel with Sinner at the Australian Open, where due to the starting spurt he almost crushed his opponent.
But this time the dividends were much more modest. Yes, Daniil got hooked in the first game at the reception, and in the second he had two break points, but he was unable to convert either of them. But he himself allowed Yannick to achieve what he wanted on the first try. And I didn’t notice how the scoreboard lit up 0:3.
To continue the fight in this game, Medvedev needed to get a bloody nose in the fourth game, but here too he was unsuccessful. Even though he walked forward himself, he clearly felt uncomfortable, too often sending the ball into the net or out of bounds. While Sinner felt confident and completely refused to make mistakes. On the fourth attempt, he still made the second break in a row, and then took the serve and removed all questions in this segment. Subsequently, Daniil still lost the score, but no longer thought about a comeback.
The statistics of the first set could not but disappoint Medvedev's fans. He was inferior in all key components - the percentage of points taken on the first serve (47% - 81%), actively won balls (3 - 8), and also had five unforced ones, while the Italian had none. And a short break did not improve the weather. The Russian lost “his” game dry, and then immediately let the Italian go in someone else’s, having by that time given away ten rallies in a row. And although the terrifying series was still interrupted, it was not possible to build on the success.
With the score 0:2, Medvedev finally succeeded and instilled hope in the hearts of his fans. It seemed that the Russian, who had been swinging steadily for a long time, would finally pick up the key to his opponent, but that was not the case. On this day, nothing worked for him - the Russian made mistakes on crosses from the right, unsuccessfully approached the net and overall looked completely disassembled. And out of helplessness, he blurted out something more and more often at his team.
Perhaps the fourth rocket in the world was so influenced by the bird that almost crashed into him, or the Italian himself slowed down a little, but the Russian still avoided the biggest defeat in his professional career. On his serve, he took the third game in this match, and then even cut himself on the return, but still could not stop his opponent. Medvedev lost devastatingly to Sinner in just 71 minutes and suffered his fifth consecutive defeat in a head-to-head confrontation - 1:6, 2:6.
Medvedev's speech left not only the audience, but also Sinner himself perplexed. According to him, he expected a fierce battle, but the Russian was not in the best condition, so he allowed himself many mistakes that he usually does not make. But he noted that if Daniil had been able to achieve success at the reception in at least one of the games, everything could have turned out differently.
Thus, two Russians who claimed to reach the final of the Masters in Miami at once failed to cope with their task. The day before, in 1/2, Ekaterina Alexandrova capitulated, having previously dealt with the formidable Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari. But she was unable to force a fight on the owner of the courts, Danielle Collins. The match lasted only 1 hour 17 minutes - 3:6, 2:6