Jannik Sinner added another title to his collection on Sunday, beating Jiri Lehecka to win the Miami Open and extend his impressive run in the United States.
Sinner saw off Lehecka 6-4, 6-4, becoming just the eighth player in men’s tennis history to complete the Sunshine Double—winning both Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.
One area where Sinner stood out was his serving. He hit 10 aces and won 92 per cent of points on his first serve.
The Italian has come a long way since his struggles with serve consistency, particularly after the issues that surfaced during the 2025 US Open final. Since then, he’s put a lot of work into that part of his game.
Jim Courier and Chris Eubanks picked up on these changes when speaking after Sinner’s win in Miami. They focused specifically on how far he’d come since those early concerns over his serve.
After winning in Florida, attention turned to just how much Sinner has improved. The biggest change hasn’t just been what he does before hitting each shot, but also what happens after contact. Courier also highlighted what made Sinner’s serving improvement so remarkable.
The former player suggested that many observers felt that serve technique changes had limited potential for improvement once a player reached a certain stage:
Chris Eubanks describes Sinner’s Miami title run as a worrying sign for Carlos Alcaraz
Courier opened up the conversation on Tennis Channel, noting: “He’s [Sinner] not losing miles per hour [on serve], and the accuracy is something that we’ve talked a lot about in this tournament. We’ll continue to talk about how impressive it is for Jannik Sinner.
“He’s ripping serves, right? The guy’s made the adjustment since the US Open when he had a poor serving day. And the team went, ‘hold on a second,’ this is not right. Service percentage was down around 60 percent for the season at that point.
“From there on, he’s been right around 68 percent with his first serve percentage and the accuracy and the speed. There’s been no change.
“Normally, if you’re going to get that kind of an uptick, you’re taking something off of it and you’re not going close to the line. Well, his first serve placement is anything but safe. It is risking the line all the time, Chris.”
Eubanks followed up by echoing Courier’s points while highlighting how those adjustments could cause trouble for players like Alcaraz.
“Yeah, and you hit the nail on the head, Jim,” Eubanks said. “Most times when players focus on increasing their first percentage, you got to maybe use a kick.
“The first serve you got to take a little bit off— maybe use body serve.
“He’s gotten more accurate, he’s hitting it bigger than ever, his percentage is going up, and then when you get the serve back, when you’re finally able to guess right and return something that’s landing two feet of the line.
“He’s also got a forehand on this side, a forehand on this side. He’s now using the drop shot. He’s running to the net. He’s doing all areas of the game so well. We love to see a player who’s had this much success continuing to find ways to get better.
“And I think that’s the thing that has to be scarier for the field. So I’m glad I’m sitting up here with you guys [laughing].
“And it’s also scary for Carlos Alcaraz because this is a rivalry that has been going back and forth.
“You said something earlier I thought was interesting. They both have the same number of career titles. But if I’m not mistaken, I think they also have the same number of points won against each other.
“The comparisons are uncanny between the two, so I’m looking forward to, for the next few years, seeing these guys have to counter each other and see.
“Okay, Jannik’s becoming a better server. Carlos is also making adjustments to his serve. They’re all tinkering with little things to try to be better, and the game is going to be better for it.”
What’s Next for Jannik Sinner After Miami Open Title?
Following his title run in Miami, Jannik Sinner will head back to Europe to play the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Sinner, who has just one clay-court trophy in his career, last appeared at the tournament in 2024, where he was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.
“I’m going to jump on the plane tomorrow. I’m going to be in Monaco around lunchtime on Tuesday.
“We’re aiming to go back on court on Thursday, slow but the body is going to hurt a bit.
“Then we’ll see how I’m going to feel.”
After playing Monte-Carlo, Sinner will likely head over to Spain for the Madrid Open and then Rome for the Italian Open.
The next stop after that will be Paris for Roland-Garros.
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