MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

March 29, 2026

Jannik Sinner

Press Conference

J. SINNER/J. Lehecka

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Jannik, congratulations. Can you describe how special this moment is for you?

JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, it's a very, very special moment. Coming here, performing again in a very good way after Indian Wells, means a lot to me.

Yeah, finals are always very, very different and difficult to play. Today's conditions were very, very different, very heavy. We both struggled a little bit in the beginning, but was also a bit windy at some point. It was not easy today, but I'm very, very happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations. Can you talk about how you navigated the rain delay? Jiri was saying he thought in a way it maybe helped him a little to regroup, that right after that you really had the momentum, he was able to regroup a little bit before you then take over. But what did you do during the rain delay? How did that affect you in any way?

JANNIK SINNER: Just listen some music. I felt like I was in a good spot before raining. Was hitting the ball a little bit cleaner, especially the first game when he was serving.

But, look, this can happen, and I tried to focus very much on my service games. I had couple of chances early on when we had to play again after, but I couldn't use them. But that's tennis.

But at the end, I found a way to break him, and then serving out in a very good way. I tried to listen to some music. Also joke around a little bit, because there was a little bit of tension. But, yeah, I'm happy how I handled it.

Q. Congrats. Amazing month. Can you talk a little bit about how you could just call up your serve like that whenever you really needed it in big moments? A lot of the greats did that, Sampras, back in the day. Especially when you had breakpoints. Five straight first serves. You had 18 in a row, I think, 18 points on your serve. Talk about that.

JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, no, I tried to be focused. You know, I tried to understand why I missed the first serves before, and as I said in the beginning, the conditions were very different. We haven't really played in these couple of weeks in these conditions, but very, very heavy, the balls. So it was tough to go through it.

You know, I missed a couple of first serves in the net, because they were quite heavy. They go down, tend to go down. But I tried to understand what would be best to serve. You know, he's a very aggressive returner, standing very close. So you have to hit, you know, very precise. If not, he has it on the racquet.

Yeah, happy how I handled, especially this week, the tough situations.

Q. Congrats. That's now three straight Masters events, ATP Finals you won without dropping a set. Curious, first of all, on the really big points, how were you able to summon the best aspects of your game? What part of your game would you say you're most satisfied with across the board?

JANNIK SINNER: Look, it has to be the serve. I feel like, especially this week, serving very well. And also, you know, when you tend to go a little bit tired physically, when you have some free points and the serve helps you a lot.

Yeah, so that aspect, for sure. Also this month I feel like here I was serving better than Indian Wells. But, yeah, we worked a lot, you know, to be in this position.

And now, on clay, the serve, you need to use it in a very different way. You know, you cannot go only flat. Let's see how that works. But at the moment, I also want to enjoy this moment.

Q. What is more difficult, winning a Grand Slam or winning these two tournaments in a row?

JANNIK SINNER: Oh, it's tough to say and tough to compare. I don't want the truth. You know, both are very difficult.

But Grand Slams are always a bit different, I feel like. Best-of-five and throughout two full weeks, things can change throughout one night. You know, maybe you wake up not feeling well, and, you know, the body maybe might not feel a little bit more.

But also, here, you know, physically it's tough, because when you go far in Indian Wells, you come here a little bit tired. But the motivation is very high, because you come from a very confidence boost, also. But, yeah, I don't want to compare.

Q. Obviously making 2,000 points in the rankings when you had zero this time last year is a big step up in the rankings. How much are you focused on getting back to No. 1 soon? It's mathematically possible now. And you Alcaraz have this long streak where, when you both play a tournament together, one of you wins it. It's happened for almost two consecutive years now. I think Madrid 2024 was the last time. How do you feel about what you two are achieving? Do you know about that streak when he went out in the third round that you had to carry it on your own here?

JANNIK SINNER: No, I think it's all individual, our sport, that it's very tough. As I said, you know, things doesn't change as how I see. You know, the big picture for me is depending on how I play, and that should be the ranking, no?

Carlos, he has been so consistent, you know, for so, so long. Now we go on clay, you know, where we all know how strong he is there.

But I look on my side. For me, now the most important is to recover, enjoy this moment, and I don't have a lot of time to adjust, playing on clay, if I want to play Monaco.

So let's see. You know, for me, I just try to enjoy also these moments and not thinking too much. You know, I have always been someone who thinks in a very present moment. I don't look in front, but I also don't look backwards.

Whatever comes, comes. I'm very happy about these couple of tournaments, and now a new chapter starts with the clay again. Let's see how it goes.

Q. You were not able to participate here last year, but you won in 2024. How was, like, winning again this year? Was it, like, more special? And by winning without dropping any set?

JANNIK SINNER: No, but not dropping a set, this is, it's not really... I feel like, you know, you need to win the match. That's the most important.

For me, I had it in my mind, it has been, for sure, two tournaments what I have missed last year very much. Especially Indian Wells, I have to say, because Indian Wells, you live it in a different way. You are housing.

You enjoy it more, in a way, you know, because sometimes you do some different stuff, playing golf or feeling more free. Here is completely different.

You know, but for sure I felt like last year it was a tournament I have missed, you know. So it is special. Every tournament, every title is different, especially in its own way.

Q. Congrats. I read that after Doha you went quite quickly to California to train and prepare for this swing, this period. What did you feel in that period, what did you really most want to improve? How much did that kind of preparation lead to this?

JANNIK SINNER: The all-around game. Look, we have had so, so long days on court and not many days off we had playing under the sun for very much. I felt like that has been an aspect where I needed to improve, playing in the heat.

We did that. You know, I suffered, but I tried to go through these situations over and over again every day. Even if the result doesn't come now, it's for sure something what would help me deeper in the season.

Yeah, I think that's it. There is no secret behind. You know, there is just hard work, and yeah, and that's it. We definitely, it has been quite long now outside of Europe, you know, for me playing Doha, so I'm also happy to go back (smiling).