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Jannik Sinner stated that he had a tough time negotiating the big serves of Andrey Rublev after beating the Russian on Tuesday (March 28) to reach the Miami quarterfinals.
The World No. 11 was in his element against Rublev. He produced an imperious performance, especially on the return, to seal a 72-minute win for the loss of just six games (6-2, 6-4). Sinner converted three of his five break points in the contest to improve to 3-2 against the Russian.
In a riveting contest between two of the game's hardest hitters, Sinner reeled off four straight games from 1-1 and never looked back. Rublev provided sterner resistance in the second, but the Italian converted his lone break point to bring up his 19th win of the year.
Sinner produced 28 winners, eight unforced errors, and conceded no break points.
Following his amazing performance, he said in his post-match interview that his victory was anything but straightforward.
"We just tried to play with the right tactics, you know, playing bombs against bombs. It's never easy," alluding to the Russian's powerful serves.
Without delving too much into his tactics, Sinner said that an aggressive mindset paid rich dividends:
"I don't talk about tactics because ... I don't want to, but, for sure ... trying to stay aggressive more than him was today, for sure."
The Italian is yet to drop a set in three matches this week as he reaches his third Miami quarterfinal in as many main-draw appearances.
"Hopefully, I can keep it up in the next round" - Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner played one of his best matches of the season to beat an aggressive player and big server like Rublev.
Undoubtedly, the Italian was pleased with his level of play and hopes to bring the same to the next round, continuing in his on-court interview:
“Playing against Andrey is never easy. He serves very well and he plays very aggressive, so I had to change a little bit today. For sure, my level was great, I felt good on court, so hopefully I can keep it up in the next round.”
With his win over Rublev, Sinner is guaranteed to return to the top 10 next week. Sinner will next meet the winner of Botic van de Zandschulp or Emil Ruusuvuori for a place in the last four.
The Italian is looking to win his maiden Masters 1000 title this week, having lost in the Indian Wells semifinals to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz last week.
