Jannik Sinner Ties Novak Djokovic Record at Miami Open

ATP World No. 2 Jannik Sinner kicked off his Miami Open campaign with an impressive victory over Damir Džumhur: 6-3, 6-3. By completing the straight-sets victory, Sinner tied Novak Djokovic's record of 24 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events.

Djokovic had established the record at Indian Wells and Miami during the 2016 Sunshine Swing. Now, Sinner is one match closer to pulling off the elusive Sunshine Double.

Sinner seemed unfazed by the different court conditions and wacky weather in Miami compared to Indian Wells. Even hecklers that interrupted the match could not distract Sinner from his locked-in level of play (although he did apologize on their behalf to Džumhur at the net after the match).

When asked what it means to tie Djokovic's record, Sinner spoke respectfully of his opponents and Djokovic. Sinner said, "The scoreboard matters at times," according to The Tennis Letter.

"For me, I try to improve as a player. Trying to put myself in the position to play as many matches as possible. I always treat every opponent in the same way. Trying to improve on court, trying to do my best, having a great attitude, and trying to go for it. First-round matches are never easy. I'm very happy."

The second question of Sinner's on-court interview was astute, which led to a revealing answer from Sinner. Noting that he won 14 of 17 points at the net against Džumhur, Sinner was asked if that was something he was working on when leading in matches early in the tournament.

"For me, the transition game is important. It's a partner try to improve a lot. It's also depends a bit day by day. I feel like today starting off with the break straight away I tried to be a bit aggressive. At times, it worked very well. At times, I made a couple unforced errors."

After today's match, Džumhur falls to 3-8 on the season and sits at World No. 76. Meanwhile, Sinner improved to 14-2 and will face either Tomáš Macháč or Corentin Moutet in the Round of 32 on Sunday, March 22.

As is always the case for the "New Two" generation, Sinner will be compared to Carlos Alcaraz. The World No. 1 is on the opposite side of the draw and could be what stops Sinner from making more history in Miami.

The Miami Open presented by Itau runs through March 29. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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