Medvedev breezes by Sinner for 2023 Miami Open tennis title

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., April 2 (UPI) -- Daniil Medvedev used his crisp serve to craft nine aces as Jannik Sinner struggled with errors en route to the 2023 Miami Open men's singles title Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

"It was an amazing tournament in an amazing city," Medvedev said after the 7-5, 6-3 victory inside Hard Rock Stadium. "I really enjoyed these two weeks."

Medvedev, who won $1.2 million, is now 29-3 with four titles this season. He is expected to move up to No. 4 in the world Monday, when the new ATP Tour rankings are released. Sinner, who upset No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the semifinals, will move up to No. 9.

Sinner said he woke up feeling a "little sick" Thursday morning and said he struggled to play in the heat throughout the 1-hour, 35-minute match. He totaled dozens of unforced errors, with 20 off his forehand.

"When the rallies were long today, I was struggling," Sinner said. "But I don't want to take away from anything. I tried. We went out on the court and we believed."

Medvedev and Sinner each held serve through the first four games of the match. Sinner broke Medvedev in the fifth game, but Medvedev broke back in the sixth. Medvedev went on to break Medvedev again in the 12th game for set point.

Medvedev broke Sinner's first two serves of the second set, breaking out to a 4-1 edge. He then held on his final two serves to clinch his fourth title of the year. Medvedev won match point when Sinner hit his final return into the net.

On Saturday, No. 12 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic also claimed $1.2 million for winning the women's singles title. She beat No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in straight sets. Kvitova is expected to move up to No. 10 in the WTA rankings.

The clay court portion of the tennis season will start Monday leading up to the 2023 French Open.