Jannik Sinner beats his own record to achieve highest performance rating of 2024 in Miami Open final against Grigor Dimitrov

Jannik Sinner broke his own record and achieved the highest performance rating of 2024 in the Miami Open final against Grigor Dimitrov.

Second seed Sinner took on the 11th seed Dimitrov in the final of the Miami Open on Sunday, March 31. While the Italian defeated the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Tomas Machac en route to the final, the Bulgarian defeated the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Hubert Hurkacz to make it to the summit clash.

However, the 22-year-old came up with the best performance of the year to make the final a relatively one-sided affair and clinch the Miami Open title comfortably 6-3, 6-1 for the first time in his career. It was the Italian's third Miami Open final (2021, 2023, and 2024) and the win will also make Sinner the new World No. 2 as he will surpass Alcaraz in the rankings.

The Italian scored a staggering 9.63 in Tennis TV and Tennis Insights' performance rating during the Miami Open final which is the highest rating achieved by a player in 2024. To put things into perspective, the tour average is 7.57.

It is interesting to note here that Sinner broke his record of a 9.52 performance rating, which was previously the highest that he achieved against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals when he defeated the Russian 6-1, 6-2.

"Number 2 is just a number, the most important thing is to execute my game plans in the best possible way" - Jannik Sinner reflects on becoming the World No. 2

Jannik Sinner

The start of 2024 has been prolific for Jannik Sinner as the Italian captured his third title of the year. The Australian Open champion's triumph in Miami will also see him becoming the new World No. 2.

Sinner expressed pride in managing situations both on and off the court during the week. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, he said:

"It has been a very special week for me. I’ve faced very different kinds of situations on the court, different opponents, even for a semifinal and a final there are two different opponents but I guess I managed the situation really well on the court and off the court which is really important."

The Italian admitted that though he was happy to be the World No. 2, it was just a number and the most important thing was to execute his game plan properly which he has done so far.

"I was full of energy today and I think that’s it I am obviously very happy to be number 2 in the world. I knew this already before the semifinal, but number 2 is just a number, for me, the most important thing is to try to execute my game plans in the best possible way which I’ve done so I’m very happy and pleased."