Jannik Sinner cruises into Miami semis as Collins and Azarenka progress
Jannik Sinner eased past Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Miami Open on Wednesday where the second seed will face the defending champion Daniil Medvedev.
The first set of the match played in humid conditions hinged on a Machac service game at 3-3 where the unseeded Czech’s forehand missed its target on break point to give Sinner a 4-3 lead.
The Italian wrapped up the set with a love hold when Machac was unable to put a second serve back in play. In the second set, Machac’s forehand sailed long to give Sinner the break and a 2-1 lead. Sinner broke again with a backhand winner for 4-1 and closed out the contest with a serve out wide that Machac could not get back.
Sinner, who was a finalist at the tournament in 2021 and 2023, produced 16 winners to four unforced errors in a stress-free victory. The win was the Australian Open champion’s 20th of the year and sets up a rematch with Medvedev in the semis after the pair met in last year’s Miami Open final and January’s Melbourne Park final. Sinner has lost just one match this year, falling in the semi-finals of Indian Wells to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev will represent another tricky test as the Russian has been in imperious form in the tournament, reaching the semis without dropping a set. He was pushed hard in the second set of his encounter with Nicolás Jarry but came through in the tiebreak, clinching on his third match point.
“It’s going to be a tactical match, potentially,” Sinner told reporters. “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 going to change a couple of things. It’s going to be an interesting test for me.”
Danielle Collins also turned on the style to record a powerful 6-3, 6-2 victory over the No 23 seed Caroline Garcia to reach the last four. Collins had 22 winners and needed just 80 minutes to dispose of Garcia and improve to 4-0 all-time in the matchup. She converted 89.7% of her first-serve points (26 of 29) and did not face a single break point.
“I think, depending on the matchup, some people are more favourable against others,” Collins said. “I think Caro comes out here and fights her butt off. She hits some really strong shots … and I don’t think the set scores are a reflection of how close the match really is. Against someone like Caro, it forces me to be more concentrated, because I know I don’t want to give her an inch.”
Collins will face No 14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in Friday’s semis after she backed up her win over Iga Swiatek with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset of fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
The 2022 Australian Open runnerup has been hyped up due to the possibility of this being her last time playing in Miami. Earlier this year, the Floridian said she plans for this to be her final year on tour. “With the way I’m playing, there’s certainly a lot to be pumped about,” Collins said. “I like to show the positive body language and the fan support I’m getting here is amazing.”
Victoria Azarenka kept her hopes of a fourth Miami Open title alive as she reached the semis with a hardearned victory over Yulia Putintseva. The No 27 seed Azarenka, who won the tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2016, laboured for just under three hours as she battled past her Kazakhstani opponent 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3.
Azarenka will face another Kazakhstani player in the last four after Elena Rybakina outlasted eighth seed Maria Sakkari in another marathon clash 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4. “I have no words because I’m so tired. But I’m really happy with the win. It was such a tough battle,” said Rybakina after clinching victory in 2hr 48min.