Jannik Sinner inched closer to completing the “Sunshine Double” with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over 19th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The second-seeded Italian is two wins away from becoming the first player since Roger Federer in 2017 to follow a BNP Paribas Open title in Indian Wells, Calif., with a Miami Open championship. He’s the highest-seeded entrant left after Carlos Alcaraz’s shocking third-round exit.
Sinner opened his match with Tiafoe with a break and never relented, finishing off the breezy victory in 71 minutes. He’s won 10 straight matches and reached the Miami Open semifinals in four of his five appearances, including a title in 2024.
“To be hungry (for more success), I think is quite natural,” Sinner said after the win. “Mentally, you have to stay calm and be relaxed also off the court, because I played a lot of tennis in the past three or four weeks with all the practice sessions and everything. I’m trying to keep going. I know this is my last tournament on hard courts before going on clay, so I’m very happy to make the semis again.”
Sinner’s serve was exceptional throughout Thursday’s match. He had comfortably more aces (14) than service points lost (nine) and never faced a break point to improve to 5-1 all-time against Tiafoe in their first match since the 2024 Cincinnati Open final.
Tiafoe hit on 68% of his first serves but won just 49% of his service points, saving just three of the seven break points he faced.
Sinner will face No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev on Friday for a spot in the championship after the German earned a resounding 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 18 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
With the 65-minute quarterfinal win, Zverev extended his recent dominance over Cerundolo, beating him for a fourth straight time.
It’s been the opposite in his recent battles with Sinner, who earned a straight-sets victory over Zverev at Indian Wells earlier this month. Sinner owns a 7-4 edge in the series and has won their last six meetings.
“Tomorrow will be the toughest test,” Zverev said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been feeling quite well, and hopefully it’ll continue.”
Zverev has been sharp in Miami. He has gone three of four matches without even facing a break point, and he’ll try to keep that level against a red-hot Sinner, who has now won 30 straight sets at the ATP Masters 1000 level.
No. 21 Czech competitor Jiri Lehecka and No. 28 Arthur Fils of France will face off in Friday’s other semifinal after winning their respective matches on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
