Sinner raises Alcaraz stakes with historic 'Sunshine Double'

Jannik Sinner is the eighth man to win Indian Wells and the Miami Open - and the first since Roger Federer in 2017 Jannik Sinner creating a moment of history by adding the Miami Open title to his Indian Wells victory will certainly not have escaped Carlos Alcaraz's notice. Sinner, 24, became the first man to complete what is known as the 'Sunshine Double' - scooping both trophies on the hard courts in California and Florida - without dropping a set. The imperious nature of the Italian's 6-4 6-4 win over Czech 21st seed Jiri Lehecka in a rain-interrupted Miami final was another illustration of how far Sinner and Alcaraz remain ahead of the chasing pack.

It was also a reminder for Alcaraz - not that he needed one - how he must continue to find ways to further improve if he is able to maintain his current status as the leading player on the men's tour. World number two Sinner has now won his past 34 sets at Masters events, enabling him to join Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only men to claim three consecutive titles in the tier of tournaments below the Grand Slams. Securing another triumph in Miami helped Sinner close the gap on Alcaraz, who was beaten in the third round, at the top of the rankings.

The gap is down to 1,190 points as the season moves on to the European clay-court swing, where the pair will unquestionably spar again for the biggest prizes given the stratospheric level on which they operate. "It has been an incredible swing for me and I'm extremely happy with the work we did to be in this position," said Sinner, who has bounced back from losing in the Qatar Open quarter-finals before going to the US. "We had some good practice days before Indian Wells and seeing this kind of result makes me happy, as does the level we are trying to produce and the player we're trying to achieve.

" Both Sinner and Alcaraz continue to elevate their games in an attempt to outstrip the other, while the rest of the ATP Tour lags way behind. When Sinner lost to his Spanish rival in September's US Open final, he candidly talked about needing to bring more variety and unpredictability to the court. But since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals, and then Jakub Mensik in Doha, Sinner's success has come down to the improved reliability of his service game.