Sinner: ‘Reaching the final means a lot; Lehecka has nothing to lose’

Turin, 28 March (LaPresse) – Indian Wells and Miami seem to me to be two completely different tournaments, with different conditions. Coming here and trying to play good tennis was my main goal, and finding myself in the final again really means a lot to me. Obviously we’ll try to push on for another couple of days, but it’s been an incredible run in any case. I couldn’t have done better. So I’m very happy.” So said Jannik Sinner after beating Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the Miami Masters 1000. Awaiting him in the final is now Jiri Lehecka, who has yet to drop a service game throughout the tournament. ‘He’s a very, very tough opponent. He’s played incredible tennis all week here, so he’s got nothing to lose,’ he said. “The playing conditions suit him and his style of play very well. He’s got a very flat forehand and backhand, serves very well, and is a very, very aggressive player. I’m in a different position, but I’ll give it my all, and let’s all hope for a great match.” Regarding the final, he added, there is an additional uncertainty: “Let’s also look at the weather forecast: it’s not promising, but let’s hope it’s as dry as possible so we can play.” Thanks to these results, Sinner has the chance to aim to overtake Alcaraz, who will in any case equal his 66 weeks as world number one on Easter Monday, and reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings during the clay-court season, ahead of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “I think the ranking is a consequence of how you play, right? For me, what matters is trying to perform at my best in every major event, especially the Grand Slams and the Masters 1000s,‘ said the Italian. ’Obviously I’m aware of the scenarios, I’m very much aware of them, but everything can change with a single tournament. That’s tennis, and then we’ll also have to see how we both react in the future because we’ve achieved so much, both him and I, but I’m happy to be in this position. But as I said, it’s just a consequence of how I play, how he plays and how the others play.”