The world No. 2 arrived in Miami, Florida, carrying momentum from his Indian Wells victory. Through the opening rounds, his top form has held. A 6-3, 6-3 win over Bosnian world No. 76 Damir Džumhur in the second round extended his ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to 12 matches, before Sinner followed with an impressive victory over French world No. 33 Corentin Mutet in the third round 6-1, 6-4.
His fourth-round matchup with American world No. 40, 21-year old Alex Michelsen, however, presented a different kind of test.
Sinner edged the opening set 7-5, managing a tight baseline exchange with balanced aggression. The second set quickly shifted in Michelsen’s favor, as the young American surged ahead 5-2, dictating play and forcing Sinner onto the defensive. At this stage of the match, it appeared a deciding set was imminent.
Instead, Sinner shifted the momentum.
He broke serve as Michelsen served for the set at 5-3, held comfortably, and suddenly the score read 5-5. Both players held serve, and Sinner had officially forced a tiebreak.
The margins were narrow in the tiebreak. Sinner defended an incredible point on Michelsen’s serve to open the tiebreak, finishing with a backhand down-the-line shot that barely scraped the paint. It was Michelsen who claimed an early mini break to move ahead 3-1, but a forehand error that sailed wide left allowed Sinner back on serve. The Italian steadied, leveled the breaker at 3-3, and walked into the change of ends confident. Sinner asserted himself with a late decisive mini break to move up 5-4 with the match on his racket. He closed with composure, winning the match in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(4). This was Sinner’s second consecutive day on court.
The tournament landscape has also shifted interestingly, as Spanish world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz exited earlier than expected, falling to American world No. 36 Sebastian Korda. Korda was then defeated by Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce, ranked world No. 151, who has advanced to the quarterfinals in one of the more notable runs of the tournament.
Sinner now moves into a quarterfinal matchup against world No. 20 Frances Tiafoe. The matchup presents a difficult challenge, with Tiafoe just having won two difficult matches against Czech world No. 13 from Jakub Mensik and French world no. 53 Corentin Moutet. Tiagoe’s athleticism and shot-making offer a contrast to Sinner’s consistent baseline exchange style of play.
Sinner has timing on his side in the current ranking situation.
At this point last season, the Italian was navigating a 3-month suspension from the ATP tour, leaving him out of several tournaments early in the year. This provides a chance for Sinner, who can only gain positive points at Miami and the upcoming ATP 1000 events Monte Carlo and Madrid, as he did not compete in them last year. Sinner returned for Rome last year, a 1000 event, where he lost to Alcaraz in the final.
Alcaraz enters this clay-court season stretch with significant points to defend, having won Monte Carlo and Rome last year. Sinner has no points to defend until Rome begins on May 6.
The opportunity is clear. Strong results over the coming weeks would not only close the gap between him and Alcaraz, but possibly give him a chance to regain the world No. 1 position by Roland Garros, which begins on May 18.
Their previous battle on clay in Paris remains one of the defining matches of last season, as well as tennis history. The five-hour, 29-minute duel is the longest final in tournament history and the second longest Grand Slam final of all time.
If Sinner’s current form is any indication, we are primed for a chance for him to recapture the world No. 1 position.
