*Sinner - Lehecka: 2 am on monday, 30/3, Hanoi time.

Sinner is aiming to become the eighth person in history, and the first since Roger Federer in 2017, to complete the "sunshine double"—winning both Masters 1000 tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Sinner celebrates his semifinal victory over Zverev at the Miami Open, at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, US on 28/3. Photo: Reuters

Two weeks after defeating Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells in mid-march, the Italian player will need to overcome the power of Lehecka, who has played exceptionally well with effective service games to reach his first career Masters 1000 final.

After Sebastian Korda's upset victory over world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, the upper half of the draw opened up. Lehecka fully capitalized on this opportunity. The Czech player advanced to the biggest final of his career without dropping a single service game in five matches. He combined controlled aggressive play with powerful serving throughout the tournament, including an impressive win over world number seven Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.

To challenge Sinner, Lehecka will need to maintain his current form and even be more audacious. His ability to shorten rally times, take the ball early, and dominate in short exchanges was evident in his crushing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Arthur Fils in the semifinals. However, facing one of the most well-rounded offensive and defensive players on the ATP Tour like Sinner, that strategy will be tested to its limit.

Sinner has also only dropped his serve once at Miami, against Alex Michelsen in the fourth round. His best serving performance came in the semifinal against the in-form Alexander Zverev, where he landed 74% of his first serves, won 78,9% of those points, and hit 15 aces. He did not drop his serve against the German player, who will rise to world number three next monday. Throughout the tournament, Sinner has averaged 12 aces per match, achieving a first-serve points won percentage of 85,2%.

The number two seed is demonstrating almost unshakeable consistency, having won 32 consecutive sets at the Masters 1000 level, far surpassing Novak Djokovic's previous record of 24 sets. After Sinner convincingly defeated Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals, his opponent called him "one of the best ball-strikers in history".

"I came here with the goal of playing my best tennis", Sinner shared after reaching the Miami final for the fourth time. "Being here again, in the final, means a lot to me".

With his run at Miami, Sinner is also putting additional pressure on Alcaraz in the race for the world number one ranking. He currently trails the Spanish player by 1,540 points in the ATP rankings but could narrow the gap to 1,190 points if he wins the championship. As he has no points to defend until the Rome Masters in may, the momentum is entirely with Sinner heading into the European clay-court season.

Lehecka has climbed eight spots to a career-high number 14 in the updated rankings and is aiming for one final bold performance. He trails Sinner 0-3 in their head-to-head record and has yet to win a set against the Italian player, but Lehecka's current form suggests this will be a much more dangerous challenge than the statistics indicate.

Lehecka celebrates his semifinal victory over Fils at the Miami Open, at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, US on 28/3. Photo: Reuters

"It feels great. This is definitely something I've been working towards all year and throughout the preseason", Lehecka said about his impressive form after his dominant win over Fils in the semifinals. "I truly believe in my game and what I've been practicing. It doesn't matter when, but I knew this great thing would come".

Lehecka is aiming for his third career ATP Tour title, having won Adelaide in 2024 and Brisbane in 2025, while Sinner seeks his 26th ATP Tour title to match rival Alcaraz's achievement.

Vy Anh