Jiri Lehecka made a good account of himself in the Miami Open final, but he was still comfortably beaten by Jannik Sinner.
Lehecka lost in straight sets to Sinner, with two breaks of serve enough to secure the Sunshine Double for the Italian.
The Czech star, who was playing in his first Masters final, had not dropped a set in Miami until he faced Sinner.
Lehecka explained just how difficult Sinner is to play and named two key reasons why he was able to win the match.
Jiri Lehecka explains how Jannik Sinner beat him in Miami
Lehecka certainly made a battle of it against Sinner, but he was eventually overpowered in his first ATP 1000 final.
The Czech star highlighted two key reasons why the world number two was able to defeat him at the Miami Open.
Is Jannik Sinner now the best server on the ATP Tour?
He won 18 points in a row on serve vs Jiri Lehecka…
He explained: “Experience and confidence, I think these two things played a big role together today. He proved that in the crucial moment of the first set, where I felt I had a chance to come back into the set, which was the 0-40 game where I had a chance to break him back, that was the moment I felt that he really served incredible. He made five first serves.
At one point, Sinner won 18 consecutive points on serve and he found a knack of hitting a big serve exactly when he needed to.
“I felt that if he would play more second serves, I would have a good chance to find my rhythm and I would have a good chance to put him under pressure from these second serves,” said Lehecka.
“I think he kind of felt the same way and he improved. Since that moment it was super tough for me to put him under pressure on his service games.”
Following his second title win of the year, Sinner is just 1190 ranking points away from Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the ATP Tour.
Jannik Sinner now has all the tools to solve his biggest problem
After an incredibly productive run on both indoor and outdoor hardcourts over the last six months, Sinner now heads to the European clay court swing.
The clay has, statistically, been Sinner’s weakest surface since his arrival on the ATP Tour scene back in 2019.
Will Jannik Sinner overtake Carlos Alcaraz and become world number one? 🤔
If so, when will he do it?
He holds a 73% win-rate on the surface, which is his lowest of all the three surfaces and he has only claimed one trophy on clay.
The star’s win at the Croatia Open in 2022 was the only time he has lifted an ATP clay court title, but he did do so by defeating Alcaraz in a final for the first time.
With his confidence brimming and his serve at an all-time high, Sinner should collect several trophies on the clay this year.
