Jannik Sinner became the youngest man in tennis history to win all six hard-court Masters titles when he won Indian Wells on Sunday.
Sinner produced some spellbinding tennis to defeat a resurgent Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 7-6 in the Californian desert.
The world number two now has the opportunity to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’; and following the release of the Miami Open draw, his chances of doing so have risen.
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Sinner has received an excellent draw in Miami – one that could see him advance to the latter stages with minimal fuss.
If Sinner were to capture a second consecutive Masters 1000 title in as many weeks, he would end a drought that has been ongoing since 2017.
Jannik Sinner could win the ‘Sunshine Double’ after receiving a positive Miami Open draw
No player has achieved the ‘Sunshine Double’ since Roger Federer in 2017.
Federer, who had won his fifth Australian Open title that year, defeated Rafael Nadal in the Indian Wells final and compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the Miami final.
Now that Sinner has received his Miami Open draw, he has an excellent opportunity to match Federer’s feat.
The Italian will play world number 76 Damir Dzumhur or a qualifier in round two, before facing Tomas Machac or Corentin Moutet in round three.
As demonstrated by those already mentioned, Sinner has avoided any potential early matchups with American home favourite, and some of the big hitters like Reilly Opelka, Valentin Vacherot and Denis Shapovalov.
All male players who have completed the ‘Sunshine Double’
- Jim Courier (1991)
- Michael Chang (1992)
- Pete Sampras (1994)
- Marcelo Rios (1998)
- Andre Agassi (2001)
- Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2017)
- Novak Djokovic (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)
In round four, Sinner could potentially play Andrey Rublev or Cameron Norrie – who recently defeated Alex de Minaur on his way to the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
From there, Sinner’s draw becomes more tricky. If the Italian were to reach the quarter-finals, he would likely play Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jakub Mensik – the defending Miami Open champion.
A meeting with Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev would likely await Sinner in the semi-finals, before a possible blockbuster contest with Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Jannik Sinner’s record in Miami
Jannik Sinner has an excellent record in Miami.
The Italian made his debut at the tournament in 2021, reaching the final before losing to Hubert Hurkacz.
A year later, Sinner reached the quarter-finals after beating Emil Ruusuvuori, Pablo Carreno Busta and Nick Kyrgios.
In 2023, Sinner again reached the final but again lost, this time to Daniil Medvedev.
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In 2024, Sinner finally won his first title at the event, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 in the final.
After the contest, Sinner discussed the biggest change he had made before lifting the title in Miami.
“I think the biggest change I have had is physical,” he told reporters in Miami. “We worked a lot physical in the gym, and this helps you also on the court when, in your mind, you know that you can play for hours and hours and then you can maintain a certain level.
“On the court, for sure, the serve I have improved, which helps you a lot, especially when you have long rallies and then a point after, you make point with the serve helps you a lot.
“I think, like, the tactical side, trying to understand how to play against certain players helps me a lot. But to reach this, you also need to improve certain shots to do this.
“I think Darren [Cahill] and Simone [Vagnozzi] they are doing an amazing job with me. They understand what we have to improve. Darren prepares me really, really good in the mental part, trying to be ready, because, you know, certain things could happen on court, and I just try to be ready for this moment.
“The combination of Simone and Darren is just really, really good.”
