Jannik Sinner, Grigor Dimitrov advance to Miami Open final

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jannik Sinner is starting to dominate.

Sinner overwhelmed third-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semifinals of the Miami Open to improve to 21-1 this year.

The second-seeded Sinner, rock-solid with his firecracker forehand, became the first man to reach back-to-back Miami Open finals since John Isner did it in 2019. In last year’s Miami final, Medvedev prevailed over Sinner at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.

This time, Medvedev’s three games tied his career low for wins in a match. He committed 22 unforced errors.

“I’m happy about this season — who wouldn’t be happy?” Sinner said. “I know the players will get to know me more and study me so I have to be ready.”

Sinner, 22, will play in the final Sunday against 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who beat No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal after knocking out top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Sinner began his revenge against Medvedev for last year’s Miami final by beating him in the Australian Open final in January — rallying from two sets down — and setting the stage for a wonderful 2024 campaign.

Sinner posted his fifth straight win over Medvedev, all in the past 12 months.

“He’s serving ten times better,” Medvedev said. “He always served well but now he serves big, big.”

This match was a lot easier than Australia in the 80-degree South Florida heat as the Italian jumped to a 5-0 lead at the outset in posting two straight breaks of the Russian’s serve. It was over in 69 minutes.

Sinner's opponent in the final, the surging Bulgarian Dimitrov, backed up his upset of Alcaraz by pulling off a win over the German Zverev in a three-setter, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4.

With fans chanting “Gri-gor, Gri-gor’’ and several Bulgarian flags waving, the match went on for two hours, 36 minutes.

The victory gave the veteran Dimitrov back-to-back wins over top-5 opponents for the second time in his career.

As such, Dimitrov should surge into the top 10 for the first time since 2018.

"Whatever I say doesn’t do it justice," Dimitrov said. “I fight my own battles. I run my own race. All that comes with the work we all put in as a team. I’m at a very different path in my life and my career. ... I kept on believing. This is just a cherry on the cake.”

Dimitrov has lost two of three matches all-time to Sinner.

Sinner, who said his serve has improved because he’s gotten stronger, broke Medvedev four times, didn’t get broken, had seven aces and won 80% of his first serves.

“This year, I have another chance,” Sinner said in the on-court interview. “I don’t think he played his best tennis and I tried to stay focused and in my rhythm.”

In the match’s second game, Sinner hit a cross-court forehand winner on a third break point for a 2-0 lead. Medvedev motioned a thumbs down at his player’s box.

The Italian went up 4-0 after cashing in on his fourth break point of the game, flicking away a short ball by Medvedev, who was flustered by two net cords during the game.

Sinner broke Medvedev in the first game of the second set and was on his way. Late in the second set, down 5-1, Medvedev heard jeers and whistles when he appeared to frustratingly hit a ball back to a ball girl with extra zest.

Sinner, whose only loss this year was to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final, said Friday was “one of the best matches in how I handled everything.”

“It’s a great feeling,” he said.

Long ago touted as the next major champion, Dimitrov is now 32 years old and has never been to a final of any of the four majors.

On serve at 5-4, Dimitrov broke Zverev for the first set, hitting a spectacular backhand volley after which the German then got tight. Zverev committed two straight unforced errors, including on set point a shanked forehand that sailed 2 feet long.

After losing the second-set tiebreaker, Dimitrov stayed resilient. At 3-3 he broke Zverev after a forehand winner and falling-down volley winner as he acrobatically blocked back a shot that caromed off the net cord.

That gave him a 4-3 lead. He held both his service games to close it out.

Alcaraz can attest to Dimitrov’s current play, saying after his loss, “He played amazing tennis, almost perfect. … He made me feel like I’m 13 years old.’’

The women’s final is set for Saturday when American Danielle Collins faces No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Alexander Zverev, left, of Germany, and Grigor Dimitrov, of Bulgaria, shake hands after Dimitrov won their semifinal at the Miami Open tennis tournament Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Grigor Dimitrov, of Bulgaria, celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev, of Germany, in the semifinals of the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Grigor Dimitrov, of Bulgaria, celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev, of Germany, in the semifinals of the Miami Open tennis tournament Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, walks off the court after losing to Jannik Sinner, of Italy, in a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, acknowledges the crowd after defeating Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, in a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, left, shakes hands with Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, right, after winning their semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, hits a return to Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, follows through on a serve to Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, during a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

ROME (AP) — The latest matchup between top-ranked Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka was hardly a contest.

Swiatek was in control from the start as she won the Italian Open final 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday, earned her third trophy on Rome’s red clay and established herself as the overwhelming favorite at the French Open again.

Roland Garros starts next weekend and Swiatek will be aiming for a third straight title in Paris and fourth overall.

After congratulating Swiatek during the trophy ceremony, Sabalenka told her rival: “I hope we’re going to make it to the final in Roland Garros, and I’m going to get you there.”

Then Sabalenka added, “Just kidding. I’m just going to try to do better than today.”

During her speech, Swiatek replied, “We’ll see about that Roland Garros final.”

Swiatek extended her tour winning streak to 12 matches and became the first woman to complete the “dirt double” of winning Madrid and Rome back to back since Serena Williams in 2013.

The final was quite a contrast from when Swiatek had to save three match points before beating Sabalenka in a third-set tiebreaker in the Madrid Open final two weeks ago.

“After Madrid I knew it was not going to be easy. Thanks for sharing the court with me and pushing me to get better,” Swiatek — who didn't drop a set in the tournament — told Sabalenka.

This time, Swiatek applied so much pressure early on that Sabalenka slammed her racket onto the clay in the fourth game and then had to grab a new stick from her bag.

Even on points when the hard-hitting Sabalenka seemed in control, Swiatek used her superb footspeed and accurate groundstrokes to turn the dynamics around and force Sabalenka into errors.

Sabalenka stepped up her game at the start of the second set but Swiatek saved seven break points in her opening two service games.

Swiatek produced only 11 winners to Sabalenka’s 18 but also had just eight unforced errors to Sabalenka's whopping 28.

Swiatek crushed a backhand return up the line on her second match point and when Sabalenka’s weak reply landed in the net, Swiatek dropped her white racket to the clay and then began jumping around in celebration after shaking hands with Sabalenka.

Adding to her titles from 2021 and 2022, Swiatek improved her career record in Rome to 20-2. At 22, the Polish player could approach the women’s record of five Italian Open titles held by Chris Evert.

Rafael Nadal, Swiatek’s idol, holds the overall record with 10 Rome trophies.

“If I win next time, there is going to be a tiramisu in here," Swiatek said as she took the lid off the trophy cup.

The men’s final on Sunday features 2017 champion Alexander Zverev against 24th-ranked Nicolas Jarry.

Swiatek also improved her career record against Sabalenka to 8-3. Swiatek has also won nine straight finals since she lost to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.

Swiatek earned a winner’s check of 699,690 euros (more than $750,000).

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, reacts during her Italian Open tennis tournament final match against Iga Swiatek, of Poland, at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, serves to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A fan holds a Polish flag with a message for Iga Swiatek, of Poland, during her Italian Open tennis tournament final match against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns the ball to Iga Swiatek, of Poland, during the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, holds her trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, in the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Swiatek won 6-2/6-3. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, walks across the court during her Italian Open tennis tournament final match against Iga Swiatek, of Poland, at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns the ball to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, reacts after scoring a point against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, reacts after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, in the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Swiatek won 6-2/6-3. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, poses with her trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, in the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Swiatek won 6-2/6-3. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, in the Italian Open tennis tournament final match at Rome's Foro Italico, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Swiatek won 6-2/6-3. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)