Jannik Sinner Wins a Ridiculous Point and Does the Carlos Alcaraz Ear Celebration in Miami

Jannik Sinner to face Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.

Jannik Sinner Wins a Ridiculous Point and Does the Carlos Alcaraz Ear Celebration in Miami

Jannik Sinner won a ridiculous point and hit the Carlos Alcaraz celebration (via X/The Tennis Letter/Jannik Sinner fan)

In Short
  • Jannik Sinner advanced to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open after defeating Alex Michelsen 7-5, 7-6(4).
  • He celebrated a remarkable point by mimicking Carlos Alcaraz's ear-cupping gesture during the match.
  • Sinner aims to win the Sunshine Doubles and has not lost a match since his early season struggles.

Jannik Sinner powered past Alex Michelsen to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on Tuesday (March 24). The Italian star is now on course to win the Sunshine Doubles and can be the first men’s player to achieve that since Roger Federer in 2017. He’s yet to drop a set at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Sinner will face Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals – a rematch of the 2024 Cincinnati Open final. The World No.2 had to push hard against World No.40 Michelsen, who played excellent tennis on the court. Many never expected the match to be cagey as Michelsen made it hard for Sinner.

After a difficult first set in which Sinner had to wait until the eleventh game to break the American star, he began to apply pressure on Michelsen’s serve in the second set. Michelsen appeared to be struggling with the bright late afternoon sunlight on Hard Rock Stadium’s main court, and Sinner took advantage of it.

However, Michelsen managed to survive that period and then responded by breaking Sinner to take a 4-2 lead. He then served to hold the lead 5-2 and was set to win the second set and drag the match into a decider. But somehow, after Sinner won his third game of the set, he found a way to break the World No.40.

Sinner then went on to make sure the tie was 5-5 but allowed Michelsen to win his serve. Having gotten 15 aces, 12 more than Michelsen, Sinner opened the second set tiebreak with the most outstanding rally of the match. But players were locked in to win the point, and Sinner was physically at his best.

Michelsen had hit a lob, which Sinner returned with a groundstroke. The American star then hit a drop shot with the intention of making the court smaller for Sinner as he raced to return the shot. But Sinner smartly hit a lob which caught the American star unawares, and he won the point. Celebrating the point, he cupped his ear like his arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz as the raucous crowd got behind him.

Sinner, who defeated Corentin Moutet in the third round, went on to win 7-5, 7-6(4) after an hour and 41 minutes on the court. The 24-year-old has now sealed his place in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, and he’s the favorite to win the championship following Alcaraz’s exit in the third round after losing to American Sebastian Korda in three sets.

Jannik Sinner admits he has gotten over his early struggles this season

Jannik Sinner didn’t begin the season the way he had expected. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in five sets, which ended his hopes of winning the championship for the third consecutive time. He then lost to Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Quindici Zero)

However, since his loss in Qatar, Sinner has been in remarkable form on the court. He has not lost a match since then, and he’s on course to win the Sunshine Doubles. During his press conference in Miami, he admitted that he has gotten better on the court since February, but he’s not carried away by his victories as he aims to continue improving:

Semis in a Grand Slam is still an incredible result, you know? I’m someone who is not over the moon when I win matches, and not someone who throws myself under the bus when I lose matches, it would not be fair. I just try to understand my game better, this comes also by playing, now a couple of years in a very high level of tennis, I know my way back, what to do. We try, of course, to improve. Today was good feedback.

Sinner didn’t participate in the Miami Open last year, so he has no points to defend at the event. Should he win the tournament, he will earn 1000 ranking points and reduce the gap between him and Carlos Alcaraz to less than 1,500 points.

Also Read: Juan Martin Del Potro Reflects on the Supremacy of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner