I struggled internally, Medvedev speaks on Miami Open win

• Daniil Medvedev is gradually regaining his footing in tennis following his victory at Miami Open
• He beat Italian Jannik Sinner in a 90-minute match to win
• Medvedev hasn’t won a single match in 18 months

Daniil Medvedev is gradually regaining his footing in tennis following his victory over Jannik Sinner on Sunday at the Miami Open.

He describes his victory as the best thing that has happened to him this year.

“I’m really happy. It was a tough match,” he said post-match.

For the 27-year-old Russian, this was a tough win given the humid conditions in Florida but he still pulled it off despite battling it internally.

“It was probably the hottest and most humid day. It was not easy conditions. I don’t know if Jannik had a small injury or cramp. I was also struggling but tried not to show it,” he added.

Daniil Medvedev. Photo/Daily Express

The world No.4 won the opening set 7-5 6-3 after breaking serve twice to register his first win in 18 months. This win Master 1000 win adds to Rotterdam, Dubai and Doha victories.

The zeal to win gave him the courage to continue to the end and battled it out with Sinner. He considers this a big win.

Sinner wore down in the second set despite putting up a fight early on. Medvedev, who came second at the Indian Wells in March continued his remarkable form to win in just over 90 minutes.

Sinner, an Italian tennis player and world No.11 knocked out Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals but Medvedev overwhelmed him.

The Russian tennis star earlier defeated fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in the Miami Open semifinals. This made him the first Russian tennis player since 1981 after Ivan Lendl to play in an ATP final consecutively five times.

Sinner and Medvedev engaged aggressively and awed the audience with their studious performance.

After a four-game run, Medvedev took lead in the first set from 5-5 and took control of the second by giving yet another superb perfomance.

Medvedev eventually edged ahead, with enough courage to rule the rest of the match which lasted 90 minutes.

Following his Miami Open victory, he is looking at battling it out with second seed, Novak Djokovic in Turin. Djokovic, the Australian Open winner is 600 points behind Medvedev.

Daniil Medvedev. Photo/ beIN SPORTS.

Meanwhile, Sinner denied Alcaraz a chance to win yet another Masters 1000 event in 2023 in a thrilling three-hour showdown.

Alcaraz, though, does not consider his momentum-stopping loss as a squandered chance.

He said that losing in the Miami Open semifinals did affect his view on his recently-acquired World No.1 status.  It is a learning curve and he feels that there is many other years for him to make up for his loss in Florida as much as it is a shame.

“Of course it’s a shame, you know, but I had an opportunity to get the Sunshine Double, but, I mean, I think I am gonna have more years to try to get it. But all I can think about is to improve my level to beat Jannik. Yeah, for me I just lost a semi-final of a tournament,” Daily Express quotes him.