Jiri Lehecka was having the Miami Open of his life until he wasn't. Carlos Alcaraz bested Jannik Sinner in a lot of things, but not what the Italian did recently. At the 2026 Miami Open, Sinner completed the Sunshine Double after winning Indian Wells in the previous Masters 1000 in March.
The Italian further proved he is the best hard-court player on the ATP tour. He might still be ranked No. 2 behind Alcaraz, but he is gaining on the Spaniard quickly. Depending on how Sinner does in Madrid and Monte-Carlo, he could press Alcaraz for the top ranking by the time the French Open comes around in late May.
But to matters more recent, Sinner defeated Lehecka to finish off a Miami Open that began with rain, had a run of sunny days, and then finished in the rain. The men's final was delayed because of precipitation, and then paused after the Italian took the first set.
Jannik Sinner defeats Jiri Lehecka to win the 2026 Miami Open
He only needed one break of the Czech to take set one 6-4. It was the first break of Lehecka, who will move up to a career-high No. 14 when the new rankings are released on Monday, all tournament, and he was playing brilliantly, no matter who he played, until the final.
His serve was bombastic and his forehand immense, and if nothing else, he served notice that he will be a threat to win important future hard-court tournaments. As long as he stays healthy, he has rounded into the form the 24-year-old needs to be a top-10 player. He just needs consistency from this point on.
That was something that Jannik Sinner had to learn, too, but he learned it a couple of years before Lehecka. The Italian is also elite in every aspect of his game. He pushed Lehecka to the breaking point even while the Czech was playing well. Lehecka didn't lose the match; Sinner won it.
Through a series of bruising backhands, pinpoint forehands, and a serve that is arguably the best on the men's tour on a hard court, Jannik Sinner took the trophy for his seventh Masters 1000 and his first Sunshine Double. Ahead of him lie the clay court tournaments, a surface on which Alcaraz is consistently better.
But the ATP No. 1 has a lot of points to defend through early June, while Sinner doesn't have any until early May. The race for No. 1 is real, and Sinner just made that more prescient by beating Jiri Lehecka at the 2026 Miami Open.