Sinner chasing 'new week, new opportunities'

Jannik Sinner is not ruing what could have been after Carlos Alcaraz ended the Italian's perfect season record last week in the Indian Wells semi-finals. The 22-year-old is shifting his focus to south Florida, where he is seeded second at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“Every tournament you go to is a new opportunity. And here is a new opportunity again to show some good tennis,” Sinner said in his pre-tournament press conference Wednesday. “I was not even thinking about the wins and losses throughout the year. I knew the point was going to come. I’m happy that it came at quite a late stage of a tournament, that means a lot to me. A semi-final at a Masters 1000 event is still a great result.

“Happy to be back here [in Miami]. Obviously a great place to play tennis. Hopefully I can show some good tennis. New week, new opportunities. Let’s see what comes.”

Sinner has fond memories in Miami, where in 2021 he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final as a 19 year old then ranked No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The Italian matched that result a year ago, falling to Daniil Medvedev in the title match. Now arriving at the hard-court tournament as a major champion with more experience, is this the year Sinner goes one step further and lifts his second Masters 1000 trophy?

“Regardless of the results, I’ve grown as a player, as a person. When I [first] came here, I was around 19. You grow, it’s normal because you have new experiences,” Sinner said. “I am fortunate that I could play now on basically every big stage throughout the whole year.

“Experience wise and everything I’ve grown, but as a person, I’m still the same. It’s not going to change through results. I’m just happy to be here and hopefully I can show some good tennis, which is what I’m looking for this week and we’ll see.”

Boasting a 16-1 record in 2024, Sinner will open against countryman Andrea Vavassori, who is No. 148 in the PIF ATP Rankings. It will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

World No. 3 Sinner is seeded to meet Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and a potential rematch against last year’s champion Medvedev looms in the semi-finals. A 12-time tour-level titlist, Sinner is chasing his third trophy of the season after winning the Australian Open and in Rotterdam.

Miami 👋🏼 pic.twitter.com/9v2GXtPE0D

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) March 19, 2024