Jannik Sinner reveals what he did during delay that helped him win Miami Open final

Jannik Sinner revealed exactly what he did to ensure he stayed focused during a rain delay in the Miami Open final.

On Sunday (29 March), Sinner, 24, became the first-ever men’s singles player to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’, which is the title given to players who win both Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

The Italian, who has won his last 34 sets in Masters 1000 events, came through with a 6–4, 6–4 win against Czechia’s Jiří Lehečka in a rain-interrupted match in Florida.

The victory also gained Sinner ground in his pursuit of Carlos Alcaraz’s world number one ranking, with the Spaniard 1,190 points ahead of him.

Alcaraz was eliminated by Sebastian Korda.

Despite securing a relatively comfortable victory, Sinner admitted that multiple rain delays – before and midway through the match – made things slightly more tense than he had anticipated in Miami.

After the first set, the players were forced to sit and wait due to the weather conditions.

Jannik Sinner won the Miami Open on Sunday (Credit:Getty)

So what do the world’s best tennis players do on such occasions?

Sinner explained how he tried to remain focused by listening to music and joking around, which helped alleviate feelings of tension.

“I listened to some music. I felt like I was in a good spot before it started raining,” he said.

“I was hitting the ball a bit cleaner, especially in the first game when he was serving.

“But this can happen and I tried to focus very much on my service games. I had a couple of chances early on when we resumed, but I could not take them, and that’s tennis.

“In the end, I found a way to break him and served it out very well.

“I tried to listen to some music and also joke around a little bit because there was some tension, but I am happy with how I handled it.”

Sinner received $1,151,380 for his efforts in Miami. The 24-year-old is expected to compete at the upcoming Masters events in Monte Carlo and Madrid before attempting to win the French Open, having been beaten by Alcaraz in last year’s final, which gets underway on 18 May.