CNN —
Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner will rise to a career-high world No. 2 after brushing aside Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to win his first Miami Open title.
After losing in the final in 2021 and 2023, Sinner dispatched Dimitrov in just one hour and 14 minutes as he cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory.
“I’m really proud obviously about the result,” Sinner said, per the ATP. “I started off struggling a little bit this week. I haven’t had so much time to adapt on this court, so I knew in the beginning that it’s going to be tough.
“As the tournament went on, I felt better and better. Today’s performance was really, really good. I’m just proud how I handled the situation. It was not easy, so it was a very, very good two weeks.”
Sinner’s record for the year now stands at 22-1 – which includes his first grand slam title at the Australian Open in January – as he continues to cement his place as one of tennis’ biggest stars.
His only defeat so far this season came against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells.
Victory in Miami brings Sinner the second Masters 1000 title of his career after his triumph at the 2023 Toronto Masters and he becomes the first Italian to reach No. 2 in the world.
When asked about his success so far this season, Sinner said “staying in the present moment” has helped him reach new heights.
“What it has been, it has been. I just try to improve … and also enjoying the moment,” he added. “This is a special moment. You never know if this is the last time or not.
“So you have to enjoy this for one day, and now a new chapter is coming, clay-court [season] is coming, so completely different. Let’s see how I will play from now on. But for sure, the hard-court season until now has been very good.”
While the hard court is undoubtedly Sinner’s favorite surface, the 22-year-old has also proven he adept on the clay with victory over Alcaraz in the final of the 2022 Croatia Open.
However, Sinner hasn’t progressed past the fourth round of the French Open since 2020 and will be looking to improve on his career best performance in Paris when he reached the quarterfinals in that same year.
