Jannik Sinner Celebrates Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 Win in Japan After Miami Triumph

Jannik Sinner will be kick-starting his campaign on the clay swing at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Jannik Sinner Celebrates Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 Win in Japan After Miami Triumph

Kimi Antonelli, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/@rotsoka, 4K JANNIK SINNER)

In Short
  • Jannik Sinner won the Miami Open, completing the Sunshine Double after his victory at Indian Wells.
  • Kimi Antonelli also celebrated a win, taking the title at the Japanese Grand Prix.
  • Sinner aims to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz in the rankings with upcoming Masters 1000 events.

Jannik Sinner‘s Miami Open run ended on Sunday (March 29) with a straight-set win over Jiri Lehecka in the final. And this has made the Italian the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double because prior to Miami, Sinner claimed his career’s first Indian Wells title by registering a straight-set win over Daniil Medvedev.

Not just Sinner, another Italian youngster’s performance grabbed the headlines. It’s Formula One sensation Kimi Antonelli who won the Japanese Grand Prix earlier in the weekend.

Both the Italians, in fact, won back-to-back titles in their respective fields. On Sunday (March 15), while Sinner claimed the Masters 1000 title in the California desert, Antonelli emerged victorious in the Chinese Grand Prix. Sinner, following his latest win, sent a heartfelt message to his Mercedes driver, writing, “Bez. Kimi. Italia“. Later during his interview with Tennis Channel, he discussed their victories.

It’s funny. I sent him obviously a message, and it was like, ‘Good luck to you as well.’ So we follow each other, and the funny thing is that Moto GP, an Italian, won, Marco [Bezzecchi]. So it has been an amazing weekend for us, Italians. I am happy to be part of this group. We have a very important game now, of course, football, on Tuesday. We are going to really hope that this goes in our way, but we will play against Bosnia.

A few more wins in the Masters 1000 events could see Sinner dethrone Carlos Alcaraz from the top of the rankings table. Sinner wants to play the Monte Carlo Masters, where, like the Sunshine Double events, he doesn’t have any points to defend because he missed these events, as well as the Madrid Open, due to his three-month doping ban.

Jiri Lehecka on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s dominance

Jiri Lehecka knocked out Arthur Fils in the semifinals to reach his career’s first final in a Masters 1000 tournament. Lehecka knew that winning his career’s first Big Title wouldn’t be easy because up against him would be Jannik Sinner.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (2)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Jannik Sinner HQ)

And as the tennis world had expected, Sinner breezed past the Czech ace to clinch his second title of the season. Lehecka, who now trails 0-4 in the head-to-head matchups against the 24-year-old, talked about the dominance of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the press conference afterwards.

Ultimately, they show us the limits, teach us what we need to improve in our game, and basically what we need to enhance around us to beat them. Not just once but on multiple occasions and, ideally, on the big stages. Matches like today against these guys help me see that I still have a lot of room to improve.

Before his defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinal (which ended his 16-match winning streak) and to Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open third round, Alcaraz completed the Career Grand Slam by defeating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, and later at the Qatar Open, he breezed past Fils. Alcaraz has 4,300 points to defend in the clay swing.

I had a good tournament here; I’m satisfied with my game, but it once again showed me where I need to go. I have to keep improving every day if I want to defeat these guys in the final rounds of events like Masters 1000 or Grand Slams.

Jiri Lehecka added

The four-time Grand Slam champion will be chasing his second title on clay in The Principality, having won just the 2022 Croatia Open by beating the World No.1. In last year’s clay-court events, he lost the Italian Open and the French Open finals to the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Also read: Coco Gauff Mentions the Olympian Who Inspired Her During Miami Open Run