Serena to Sinner: I wish I had your forehand!

Could the sage words of Serena help decide Sunday’s championship match at the Miami Open presented by Itau?

Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov will do battle for the trophy ATP Masters 1000 event, where neither player will have to turn their memory back far to remember some inspiring words from tennis royalty.

Former WTA World No. 1, 23-time Grand Slam champion and record eight-time Miami titlist Serena Williams met both players backstage after their semi-finals Friday at Hard Rock Stadium. Williams was full of praise for Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open.

“I wish I hit my forehand like that,” Williams told Sinner, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “Seriously, the racquet speed, the power, I was like, ‘Wow, night and day’. You’re unbelievable. Congrats on Australia.”

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Williams’ words came after she witnessed Sinner race past defending champion Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 to reach his third Miami title match. Awaiting the 22-year-old Italian in the final will be Dimitrov, who caught up with his long-time friend Williams after beating Alexander Zverev in three sets in the second semi-final of the day.

“She's amazing. We stay in touch,” said Dimitrov of Serena in his post-match press conference. “We nearly speak on a daily basis. She said, ‘I'm gonna come watch’. I was like, ‘Okay.’ It's always very humbling to have such a supporter in your corner and she came, we had a little chat.

“I remember she was even here when I had my first Top 10 win. It was a very nice moment. I think we both remember that. It's friendship, man. I think this is the best part. Tennis is tennis, but, you know, we are all living our dream right now. I think the real life begins after, and I think we have managed to be such good and close friends after so many years.”

While Dimitrov will very much be in control of his own destiny when he steps on court for his fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the red-hot Sinner, the Bulgarian acknowledged that friendships like the one he shares with Serena were important to help him cope with competing on the big stage.

“To be able to lean on, to share thoughts, ideas, and sometimes to even vent to someone that actually played tennis… It helps a lot,” he said.