Sinner's brilliant backhand: This jaw-dropping stat from the Miami final will shock you

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Zero backhand groundstroke unforced errors. Zero.

Jannik Sinner defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday on the back of one of the best backhand performances of his career. Sinner hit 57 backhand groundstrokes (excluding volleys) for the match and only missed two. Both errors were on the dead run and came off the end of his racquet. Everything else for the 72-minute final found the court.

Sinner won the opening set with a running backhand down the line passing shot winner that took the wind out of Dimitrov’s sails. Sinner won the match with another backhand down the line winner to put an exclamation point on a backhand performance for the ages. Sinner’s backhand numbers seem unreal compared to Dimitrov’s.

Watch Extended Final Highlights:

Sinner Backhand Groundstrokes

• 57 hit
• 2 winners
• 2 errors
• 7 errors forced on the next shot

Dimitrov Backhand Groundstrokes

• 67 hit
• 4 winners
• 14 errors
• 4 errors forced on the next shot

Sinner hit 34 backhand groundstrokes in the second set. He put every single one of them in the court. In contrast, Dimitrov hit 33 backhand groundstrokes and yielded seven errors. Sinner’s stunning backhand is built with a plethora of small adjusting steps to the ball, followed by stepping forward to the contact point with ideal spacing and timing. Sinner brings the racquet back low in his backswing which helps drop his body down behind the ball. He is always in position and always looking to hurt his opponent with some of the biggest backhands on Tour.

Sinner’s backhand return also stood tall in the match.

Sinner Backhand Returns

• 24 returns hit
• 0 return winners
• 3 return errors

Dimitrov Backhand Returns

• 33 returns hit
• 1 return winner
• 9 return errors

Sinner only yielded three backhand return errors for the match, while Dimitrov committed nine. This match had the feeling that whenever Sinner needed a point, he was perfectly comfortable mining Dimitrov’s backhand to win it.

Baseline Performance
Dimitrov’s road to the final in Miami was built on improving his court position by stepping forward toward the baseline to take the ball early. It worked incredibly well to the final, as he was able to take away time from opponents in baseline exchanges. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work at all against Sinner, as the Italian could absorb Dimitrov’s groundstrokes and send them back with interest.

Baseline Points Won
Sinner = 57% (33/58)
Dimitrov = 36% (18/50)

Dimitrov could only win one out of every three points from the baseline and only half (7/13) of his points at net. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to develop any tactic that would help him sink his teeth into the match.

The power level off the ground was basically identical for both players. Dimitrov averaged 80 mph off his forehand, while Sinner was at 79 mph. Both players averaged 69 mph off the backhand wing. Speed wasn’t Dimitrov’s problem. Sinner’s rock-solid footwork and immaculate technique simply wouldn’t break down, no matter how Dimitrov attacked it.