Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner will be fighting for a place in the Miami Open final when they meet at the semi-final stage on Friday.
This will be the first time that the pair have met since the Australian Open earlier this year, when Sinner came from two sets behind to win his first ever Grand Slam title.
Match preview
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That agonising defeat means that Medvedev also remains on one Grand Slam title himself, which came when he stunned Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the US Open final in 2021.
The Russian has now lost five Grand Slam finals, but his previous four came at the expense of two of greatest tennis players of all-time in the form of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. As such, his most recent one would have stung even more, especially having held such a commanding advantage in Melbourne.
Medvedev proved to be a nearly man once again when losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final earlier this month, but no one can knock his consistency. He has been peerless in Miami so far, dropping no sets across four victories.
The 28-year-old dominated the opening set against Nicolas Jarry in the quarter-finals, before being pushed much harder in the second. In a gruelling tie-breaker, Medvedev finally prevailed on his third match point to take it 9-7, meaning that he is on the cusp of reaching four successive finals at the two main ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the United States.
Of course, Medvedev defeated Sinner in last year's final in Miami, but that was the last time he managed to prevail against the Italian. Four straight defeats have since followed, meaning that he will need to find an extra gear on Friday to set up another potential showdown against Alcaraz in Sunday's final.
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Sinner has enjoyed a similarly straightforward passage to the final four in Miami, dropping just one set across his four wins, which came when falling behind to Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.
Despite facing humid conditions, Sinner barely broke sweat when swatting Tomas Machac aside in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The unseeded Czech's forehand missed its target on break point to give Sinner a 4-3 lead in the first set, and the 22-year-old asserted his dominance thereafter to break twice in a comfortable second set.
Sinner was defeated by Alcaraz at the semi-final stage at Indian Wells earlier this month, missing out on the opportunity of facing Medvedev in another final in the process. He will be relishing the chance to extend his winning streak to five matches against the Russian, before potentially having the opportunity to exact revenge on Alcaraz in Sunday's final.
The 22-year-old's only ATP Masters 1000 title came at the Canadian Open last year, when thrashing Alex De Minaur 6-1 6-1, so he will be determined to prove that his Australian Open triumph was not ahead of schedule and is instead a sign of things to come.
Tournament so far
Daniil Medvedev:
Second round: vs. Marton Fucsovics 6-4 6-2
Third round: vs. Cameron Norrie 7-5 6-1
Last-16: vs. Dominik Koepfer 7-6[5] 6-0
Quarter-final: vs. Nicolas Jarry 6-2 7-6[7]
Jannik Sinner:
Second round: vs. Andrea Vavassori 6-3 6-4
Third round: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 7-5 5-7 6-1
Last-16: vs. Christopher O'Connell 6-4 6-3
Quarter-final: Tomas Machac 6-4 6-2
Head To Head
Australian Open (2024) - Final: Sinner def. Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3
ATP Finals (2023) - Quarter-final: Sinner def. Medvedev 6-3 6-7[4] 6-1
Vienna Open (2023) - Final: Sinner def. Medvedev 7-6[7] 4-6 6-3
Beijing Open (2023) - Final: Sinner def. Medvedev 7-6[2] 7-6[2]
Miami Open (2023) - Final: Medvedev def. Sinner 7-5 6-3
Rotterdam Open (2023) - Final: Medvedev def. Sinner 5-7 6-2 6-2
Vienna Open (2022) - Quarter-final: Medvedev def. Sinner 6-4 6-2
ATP Finals (2021) - Round Robin: Medvedev def. Sinner 6-0 6-7[5] 7-6[8]
Marseille Open (2021) - Quarter-final: Medvedev def. Sinner 6-2 6-4
Marseille Open (2020) - Last-16: Medvedev def. Sinner 1-6 6-1 6-2
Astonishingly, Sinner has won the last four meetings between the pair, having lost all six of their initial encounters. All 10 meetings have been played on varying hard courts, which is both player's favoured surface.
Five of the last six match-ups between the pair have taken place in a final, with Sinner triumphing on three of those occasions, most notably at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Medvedev's last victory against Sinner came almost a year ago to the day in the final of the Miami Open, so that may help improve his confidence heading into this year's semi-final, but Sinner clearly holds the psychological edge having dominated this battle in recent times.
We say: Medvedev to win in three sets
Recent history suggests that Sinner should be the overwhelming favourite for this clash, having won his last four meetings against Medvedev. However, the Russian has looked near faultless in Miami, and he will be determined to return to winning ways against the Italian after winning their first six match-ups.
The 28-year-old clearly had the edge in that final before fatigue kicked in from another five-set epic against Alexander Zverev in the semi-final less than 48 hours beforehand, and we are predicting him to take a tight battle before facing Alcaraz in another US final.
Brett Curtis
