Jannik Sinner closes in on usurping Carlos Alcaraz's World No. 2 spot after Spaniard crashes out of Miami Open
Carlos Alcaraz fell short in his Miami Open quarterfinal clash against Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday, thus gifting Jannik Sinner the opportunity to take over his World No. 2 spot this week.
Alcaraz was a semifinalist at Miami last year, where he fell to eventual runner-up Sinner. The two-time Grand Slam champion was defending 360 points at the Masters 1000 event but has only gained 180 points now after his 2-6, 4-6 loss to Dimitrov.
Currently with 8,805 ranking points to his name, Alcaraz will have 8,625 points when the rankings are refreshed on Monday. On the other hand, World No. 3 Sinner is still alive in the tournament and currently holds 8,310 points. A win in the semifinals will take him back up to 8,310 points, while a title run will move the Italian up to 8,710 points.
In a nutshell, Jannik Sinner can reach a career-high World No. 2 ranking next week, but only if he wins his maiden Miami Open title. Standing in his way are Daniil Medvedev, his semifinal opponent, followed by either Alexander Zverev or Dimitrov in the final.
Jannik Sinner goes into Miami Open semifinal having won his last four clashes against Daniil Medvedev
Jannik Sinner will go into his semifinal clash against Daniil Medvedev knowing that he has a 4-6 deficit in their head-to-head but still full of confidence, as the Italian has won their last four matches on the trot.
Their most recent encounter came at the Australian Open at the start of this year, where Sinner overturned a two-set deficit to win his maiden Grand Slam title. Speaking at his press conference after his quarterfinal win over Tomas Machac, Sinner looked forward to taking on Medvedev at Miami, stating that he expected a highly tactical encounter against the Russian.
"Tough match obviously. He made final in Indian Wells. Also he has good confidence. He is playing really good, especially here in this tournament. Last year he won," Jannik Sinner said.
"But let's see. It's going to be a very tactical match potentially, because, you know, I have to be ready if he starts off in a similar way as in Australia. I have to be ready and trying to understand it before. Then maybe he's gonna change a couple of things," he added.
Regardless, the World No. 3 hopes to play some "good tennis" against the defending champion come Friday, and was glad to have a day off to practice before what he believes will be a "very physical" match.
"So let's see. It's going to be an interesting test for me. Hopefully I can show some good tennis. And that's it, no," Jannik Sinner said.
"Physical shape I feel good. Tomorrow is one day off to practice, to recover, because it's going to be a very physical match in the next round, and let's see what's coming," he added.