Sinner becomes first man since Federer to complete Sunshine Double

Jannik Sinner made history Sunday when he won the Miami Open presented by Itau to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’.

The Italian defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 in the hard-court final, becoming the first male since Roger Federer in 2017 to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.

Sinner is the first to do so without dropping a set across the two events, CE Report informs via the ATP Tour's official website.

“It means a lot to me. [Winning] the Sunshine Double for the first time, it’s incredible,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “It’s something I never would’ve thought [to win] because it’s difficult to achieve. We made it somehow, so I’m very happy.”

A dominant Sinner extended his record to 34 consecutive sets won at ATP Masters 1000 level, dating back to the start of last year's Rolex Paris Masters. He improved to 19-2 this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Rain delayed the start by 90 minutes. But once play began, Sinner quickly made inroads on Lehecka, who entered the final unbroken this fortnight, having saved all nine break points he faced across five matches. The 26-time tour-level titlist earned a break in the Czech’s second service game and created 11 break points throughout the match.

Lehecka tried to counter, building a 0/40 lead in Sinner’s following service game, but the Italian landed five first serves in a row, which helped him dig out of that early hole.

Sinner never ceded momentum. In the opening set, he did not drop a point behind his first serve (16/16), according to Infosys ATP Stats. The south Florida rain returned after three points were completed in the second set, causing another near 90-minute delay. Lehecka will rue his below-par service game at 4-4 in the second set, during which he missed a routine forehand approach at 30/30 to give Sinner a break opportunity, which the Italian converted.

Throughout the one-hour, 33-minute clash, Sinner held the advantage in forehand-to-forehand rallies, forcing Lehecka to strike above his shoulder on that wing. Lehecka often moved forward, converting 13 of his 19 points at net, but it was not enough to overcome a pristine Sinner.

“I tried to stay solid in very different conditions today, it was very heavy so it’s tough to go through the player," Sinner said. "I tried to stay solid in important moments and I’m very happy to take this [trophy] home with me.”

A seven-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, Sinner now trails World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz by 1,190 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after making a statement this month. The 24-year-old won Indian Wells for the first time in his career and on Sunday became the eighth different male player to win the ‘Sunshine Double’. Novak Djokovic and Federer have completed the feat on multiple occasions.

Sinner’s great rival Alcaraz made a perfect start to the 2026 season, building a 16-match winning streak with title runs at the Australian Open and the ATP 500 event in Doha. With Sinner now on a surge of his own, the battle for World No. 1 will only intensify throughout the European clay-court swing.

Lehecka, 24, was competing in his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final. The Czech is set for a new career-high No. 14 in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings.