March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nSinner has a ways to go to match them, but he is widely considered the best hard court player in the world, even if Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two hard court Grand Slams. He made the finals of Miami in his first try in 2021, did it again two years later, and has won it the last two times he has played on the fast, slick surface where his power game thrives.<\/p>\n
Given all that, Lehecka was a long shot Sunday afternoon, despite his recent form. He hadn\u2019t lost his serve in five matches in Miami this year. Sinner broke him in his second try, using his high, hard topspin to force Lehecka to swing at forehands up around eye-level that he struggled to control.<\/p>\n
So many have.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese matches show people like me there is still big, big room for improvement,\u201d Lehecka said after it was over.<\/p>\n
Sinner hasn\u2019t lost a set in a Masters 1,000 tournament, the level just below a Grand Slam, since early October.<\/p>\n
After getting that initial break of serve in the third game and mostly cruising through the rest of the set, there was very little chance that he was going to lose two in a row to Lehecka, a terrific talent playing the best tennis of his young career, but also a world No. 22 making his first appearance in a Masters 1,000 final.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinals are different,\u201d Sinner had said ominously after defeating Alexander Zverev in the semis to set up the duel with Lehecka. \u201cWhen the stakes are getting bigger, there is a little bit more tension, which is normal, but I like to put myself in these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
He should, especially when Alcaraz isn\u2019t on the other side of the net. Since the start of 2025, Sinner is 2-4 against Alcaraz but 75-4 against everyone else.<\/p>\n
This win sets the stage for a battle for the No. 1 ranking between Sinner and Alcaraz during the clay court season. In early February, Alcaraz had a lead of more than 3,000 points over Sinner, who held the top spot in the rankings from February of 2024 until last September, when Alcaraz overtook him.<\/p>\n
But with losses in the semifinals of Indian Wells and the third round of Miami, Alcaraz barely picked up any points. Sinner didn\u2019t play the Sunshine Double or any other tournament from February until early May last year while he served a three-month suspension for having trace amounts of a banned substance in his body that he claimed got there unintentionally. Antidoping officials accepted that explanation and lowered the usual suspension for such an offense by nine months.<\/p>\n
That has given Sinner a golden opportunity to make up ground on Alcaraz during the late winter and early spring this year, ahead of the Italian Open. He has shrunk Alcaraz\u2019s lead to just under 1,200 points.<\/p>\n
Sinner averaged nearly 130 mph on his first serve and kept his first serve percentage in the mid-60s, even as he aimed for lines and the corners. He didn\u2019t lose a point on his first serve the entire first set.<\/p>\n
There may not be any players who can overcome numbers like that. Lehecka couldn\u2019t Sunday, and Sinner had his first Sunshine Double, and his sights trained on Alcaraz.<\/p>\n
Lehecka fought gamely in the second set, digging himself out of deep trouble twice in his early serve games. But at 4-4, Sinner maneuvered Lehecka around the baseline until he hit a forehand long, putting the finish line in sight.\u00a0 With one more service game to go, there was no way he wasn\u2019t going to get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy about these couple of tournaments,\u201d Sinner said. \u201cNow a new chapter starts with the clay again. Let\u2019s see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n