Sports Desk, Apr 1 (EFE).- Italian Jannik Sinner eased past Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 to win his maiden Miami Open title on Sunday and move to second in the ATP world rankings ahead of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner, 22, increased his record to 22-1 in an extraordinary year for him so far, having also won the Australian Open and Rotterdam.

In total, he has won 24 of his last 25 matches and 41 of his last 44 since the last US Open.

The Italian, who had lost to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the 2021 finals and in the 2023 finals to Daniil Medvedev, won his second Masters 1,000 title in Miami after that in Toronto in 2023.

On Monday, Sinner moved to a career-high no. 2 ranking behind Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning the Men’s final match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, US, 31 March 2024. EFE-EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Sinner dislodged Alcaraz, the only player to beat him this year, two weeks ago in the Indian Wells semifinals.

Sinner, the first Italian to win the title at Miami and the only one to have reached the world no. 2 ranking, was dominant throughout the tournament, in which he only lost one set in six matches.

“It was a great performance for me, especially in the semifinal and final, which for me is more important,” said Sinner.

“Being number two is an amazing feeling, Sport is one thing, and life is very different, I am happy to be in this position, just enjoying every moment.”

Jannik Sinner of Italy in action against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during their final match at the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, US, 31 March 2024. EFE-EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

The Miami final barely lasted 73 minutes, and Sinner was on top from start to finish.

Dimitrov had the first break opportunity when he was 2-1 up in the first set, but Sinner nullified it and converted his break point in the following game to take control of the match.

The Italian served with power and quality and won 100 percent of his first-serve points, which allowed him to consolidate that break point and take the first set 6-3 in 42 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in action against Jannik Sinner of Italy during their final match at the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, US, 31 March 2024. EFE-EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Dimitrov, who reached the final after eliminating Alcaraz and the German Alexander Zverev along the way and was looking for his second Masters 1,000 title after Cincinnati 2017, had no answer to Sinner’s complete game in the second set either.

The Bulgarian, who became world no. 9 on Monday having returned to the top-10 for the first time since 2018, turned to his serve in an attempt to stay in the match.

But he was broken by Sinner at 2-1 and again two games later to lose the second set 1-6. EFE

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