Sinner Overcomes Rain, Ruusuvuori To Reach Miami SFs

Not even a two-hour rain delay could stop Jannik Sinner from maintaining a pair of perfect records on Thursday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Italian prevailed 6-3, 6-1in a weather-disrupted quarter-final inside Hard Rock Stadium and he has now won all eight sets he has played at this year’s edition of the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event in Florida. The 10th seed was victorious in one hour and 15 minutes and improved his ATP Head2Head record against Ruusuvuori to 5-0.

"We both played well today but I won the important points," Sinner said. "It's never easy when you are up and you get interrupted, but I came back and played well."

Most Match Wins In 2023

* Playing Wednesday night in Miami

Although Sinner did not quite hit the heights of his sublime fourth-round performance against Andrey Rublev, the Italian stayed solid in all facets of his game and raised his level when needed to nullify Ruusuvuori’s power. After fending off the first break point of the match to hold in the fourth game, Sinner broke the Finn’s serve for 3-2 in the next. That sequence proved pivotal for the direction of the match.

The 21-year-old World No. 11, who has shown he is capable of striking winners from all corners of the court during his run on the fast-paced courts in Miami, arrowed a backhand return winner to break again in the ninth game and seal the opening set. That was the second of four games in a row for the Italian before rain forced the players off court with Sinner leading 6-3, 2-0.

After play resumed following a two-hour rain delay, Sinner quickly held to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. He never looked back, improving to 20-4 on the season. 

Sinner now holds a 12-2 record in Miami, where he reached his only previous ATP Masters 1000 championship match in 2021. He next prepares for a semi-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz.