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Jannik Sinner has shown steady improvement over the last year, which allowed him to win his maiden Major title at the Australian Open in January. The Italian attributed his steep upward growth to his rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev following his quarterfinal win against Tomas Machac at the 2024 Miami Open on Wednesday.
During his post-match interview with Tennis Channel, Sinner received an interesting question from host Prakash Amitraj. The American shared with him an anecdote of Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni, where he claimed that in his early years in the 2000s, he had modeled his nephew's game to counter then-World No. 1 Roger Federer's aggression.
The Tennis Channel host asked Jannik Sinner whether Carlos Alcaraz had pushed him to improve his game in a similar vein.
The Italian replied in the affirmative, before giving a nod to World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, as well. He also disclosed some parts of his game that he had focused on, which included serve-and-volley, drop shots and shot selection.
"Of course, I think that's good to see, and this also makes me a better player," Sinner said. "Not only Carlos, but Daniil is someone who kind of made me a better player. Because I never beat him before, I tried to work on a couple of serve and volleys, drop shots, opening [up] the court with the short, corners and angles. So, you know, for sure, there are players who make you better.
The 22-year-old did maintain, however, that players must win their early-round matches to improve their game, as they get to face top players only in the latter stages of a tournament.
"But you also have to reach a certain rounds to play against those. Which most likely are from quarters to semis to finals, and I'm really happy to play again in semis," he added. "It's gonna be a really tough match, but, you know, this is what I practice for, and let's see where I have improved."
Jannik Sinner to face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final of Miami Open 2024
Jannik Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in the last four on Thursday in a rematch of their 2023 Miami Open final. When asked to give his thoughts on their 11th-career encounter, the second seed wished that he hopefully isn't as slow to get off the blocks during their semifinal clash as he was during their five-set final in Melbourne earlier this year.
"Against Daniil, if he plays the same was as the first two sets, like in Melbourne, it was over an hour," Sinner asserted. "So, I have to be really careful. But, you know, every match is different, I'm looking forward to it. And hopefully it's gonna be a good match, which I guess is the most important for not only for us players, but also for the fans."
Daniil Medvedev leads Jannik Sinner 6-4 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP Tour. That said, the Russian has dropped his last four matches against the young Italian, including a loss from two sets up in the championship match of the 2024 Australian Open.
