Daniil Medvedev looks to defend Miami title | ATP Tour

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Can more Miami magic help Daniil double up at last?

Defending champ Medvedev is aiming to win the same event twice for the first time

March 20, 2024

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Daniil Medvedev celebrates winning his first Miami title and his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown.
By Andy West

“It’s the best start of the season I have ever had,” said Daniil Medvedev after downing Jannik Sinner to lift the trophy at last year’s Miami Open presented by Itau.

The champion at Hard Rock Stadium was not wrong. Medvedev’s title run had improved his record for 2023 to 29-3 after he won a remarkable 24 out of 25 matches won across February and March. His triumph at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Florida, where he had not previously been past the quarter-finals, ultimately proved to be the crowning achievement of one of the most impressive early season runs in ATP Tour history.

Medvedev won four tournaments across three continents as he responded emphatically after dropping out of the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in four years. He won back-to-back titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, before reaching the championship match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. After his Miami triumph, he had firmly reestablished himself among the sport’s elite as the World No. 4.

_{^{Daniil Medvedev celebrates winning his maiden title at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}}

At Hard Rock Stadium, Medvedev dropped just one set across five matches to seal his fifth Master 1000 crown. The way he dismantled Sinner, who had battled past defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals the day before, was a demonstration of the sort of clinical match-winning machine Medvedev had become across those past two months.

“I haven’t won’t such a big title in probably a year and a half,” said Medvedev after his 7-5, 6-3 win earned him a first Masters 1000 trophy since Toronto in 2021. “At the end I was quite shaky. Not even tight, because I’m not scared to win. But still the hands get a little shaky, so the serve is a little bit tougher… I managed to get myself together and close the match.”

Medvedev breezed past Roberto Carballes Baena, Quentin Halys and Christopher Eubanks before overcoming Karen Khachanov in three sets to reach the final showdown with Sinner. His relentless defence, complemented by a booming serve, made him a hard man for his opponents to hit through at Hard Rock Stadium.

Medvedev’s stellar couple of months on hard courts around the world prompted plenty of press-conference questions in Miami about his affinity for the surface. Speaking after his victory against Sinner, he cited an increased ability to pull through tough moments on hard courts as key.

“Generally I love hard courts. I love playing on it,” said Medvedev. “If it would be my choice, it would be…