He beats Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 to complete “Sunshine Double” without dropping a set
Jannik Sinner beats Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 to complete the coveted “Sunshine Double,” becoming the first since 2017 to achieve the feat without dropping a set. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
MIAMI:
World number two Jannik Sinner powered past Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP Miami Masters 1000 for a second time on Sunday, adding the title to his Indian Wells crown.
Sinner had to wait out rain delays before and during the match to complete his “Sunshine Double,” becoming the first man to sweep the elite hard court tournaments in California and Florida since Roger Federer in 2017 and the first to do so without dropping a set.
The 24-year-old was unable to defend the trophy in Florida in 2025 as the tournament fell during his three-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance
Against Zverev on Friday, Sinner served 15 aces and staved off a break point while 4-3 down in the second set as he beat the German for a seventh straight time.
In fact, Sinner – who won Miami in 2024 but missed last year as he served a three-month doping ban – has now won three straight Masters 1000 events, starting with a victory in Paris last year.
“It means a lot to me, (completing) the Sunshine Double for the first time, it’s incredible,” Sinner said on court.
“It’s something I never would’ve thought (I’d win) because it’s difficult to achieve. We made it somehow, so I’m very happy.”
Sinner’s victory, coupled with Aryna Sabalenka’s triumph over Coco Gauff on Saturday, mark the first time the Indian Wells-Miami sweep was achieved on both the men’s and women’s sides since Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka both did it in 2016.
It also saw the Italian gain a bit on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the race for world number one as the clay court season beckons.
Early showers saw the match delayed for more than an hour. Sinner had just pocketed the first set when the showers hit again, halting the match for 90 minutes.
It wasn’t enough to unsettle Sinner, who fired 10 aces and won 33 of 36 points when he put his first serve in play.
His return game was also spot on as he handed 22nd-ranked Czech Lehecka his first service break of the tournament for a 2-1 lead in the opening frame.
Sinner trailed 0-40 in the following game but fired three service winners and a pair of aces to hold and made the advantage stand up.
The Italian gave himself a first set point in the ninth game with a blistering cross-court forehand service return winner.
Lehecka saved that one with a service winner and saved another set point with a volley, going on to seal the hold on his sixth game point before Sinner pocketed the set with a love game.
Lehecka fought off five set points before Sinner pounced for the lone break of the second set and a 5-4 lead.
Sinner didn’t face a break point in the second set and gave himself a match point with a forehand volley winner, thought he had it on a serve that was called a let, and polished it off with another winner at the net.
While Lehecka, playing in his first Masters 1000 final, couldn’t follow compatriot Jakub Mensik into the Miami winner’s circle, he will reach a career-high 14th in the world rankings on Monday.
“I came here with not good form and I was able to come back to the tennis that I want to play,” Lehecka said at the trophy ceremony.
Sinner – who has now won a record 32 sets in a row at Masters 1000 level – triumphed at Indian Wells on March 15 and is eyeing a second Miami Open title in three years.
Sinner became eighth man to achieve the ‘Sunshine Double’ of winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same season, after Federer (three times), Djokovic (four times), Andre Agassi, Marcelo Rios, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang and Jim Courier.
