Serena to Sinner: “I wish I had your right!” | ATP Tour

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Serena to Sinner: “I wish I had your right!”

The former WTA star praises the Italian and reunites with her good friend Dimitrov in Miami

March 30, 2024

By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Can Serena’s words of wisdom help decide Sunday’s championship match at the Miami Open presented by Itau?

Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov will fight for the ATP Masters 1000 trophy, where neither player will have to look back far to remember some inspiring words from tennis royalty.

Former WTA World No. 1, 23-time Grand Slam champion and eight-time Miami champion Serena Williams met with both players backstage following their semifinals Friday at Hard Rock Stadium. Williams was full of praise for Sinner, who won her first Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open.

“I wish I hit my forehand like that,” Williams told Sinner, No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “Seriously, the speed of the racket, the power, I was like, ‘Wow, night and day’. You’re amazing. Congratulations to Australia.”

Williams’ words came after watching Sinner beat defending champion Daniil Medvedev 6-1 6-2 to reach his third Miami title match.

Awaiting the 22-year-old Italian in the final will be Dimitrov, who was reunited with his old friend Williams after beating Alexander Zverev in three sets in the second semi-final of the day. “She’s amazing. We stay in touch,” Dimitrov said of Serena in his post-match press conference. “We almost talk every day. She told me, ‘I’m coming to see you.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ It’s always very humbling to have someone so supportive in your corner.”

“I remember being here when I won my first match against Top 10. It was a very nice moment. I think we both remember it. It’s friendship. I think this is the best. Tennis is tennis, but, you know, we’re all “Living our dream right now. I think real life begins later, and I think we have managed to be such good and close friends after so many years.”

Although Dimitrov will be master of his own destiny when he takes to the court for his fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup with the red-hot Sinner, the Bulgarian acknowledged that friendships like the one he shares with Serena were important in helping him navigate the competition on the big stage.

“Being able to support each other, share thoughts, ideas and sometimes even vent to someone who actually plays tennis… It helps a lot,” he said.