Miami Open: Sinner eyes world no. 2 after Alcaraz’s shock exit

The 2024 tennis season has been kind to Jannik Sinner where the 22-year-old clinched his first Grand Slam by winning the 2024 Australian Open and he is on the verge of rewriting Italian tennis history once the ongoing Miami Open ends.

Sinner’s 19-match unbeaten streak was ended by no other than Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells and that match had to determine the next World No. 2, which the Spaniard remained after his victory and then went on to claim the title, which was his first ATP title in eight months.

However, Sinner is now coming for Alcaraz’s World No. 2 position after the Spaniard’s shocking straight-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in the Miami Open.

After winning his previous matches, the defending Australian Open champion will take on Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final of the Miami Open, while the Italian trails 4-6 in their head-to-head, he emerged victorious in each of their last four meetings.

If Sinner beats Medvedev on Friday and then goes on to win the title, his total points tally will be 8,710, which more be 65 more than Alcaraz who currently has 8,645 after losing 145 points during his quarter-final defeat.

Sinner, at No. 3, is already at his career-high rankings and could become the first Italian to sit in the second position in the ATP rankings by winning the Miami Open.

Earlier, Alcaraz's dream of a Sunshine Double was shattered as he lost 6-2 6-4 on Thursday to Grigor Dimitrov. The top-seeded Spaniard’s serve was broken four times during the 92-minute encounter.

Dimitrov, the Bulgarian 11th seed, secured 77% of his first-serve points with Alcaraz only at 56%.

Alcaraz, who bagged the Indian Wells title 11 days ago, was hoping to become the first player to bag the Sunshine Double since Roger Federer in 2017.

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