Sinner sees off Lehecka to complete Sunshine Double without dropping a set
Jiri Lehecka entered his first Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open in the best serving form of his life.He had won every service game in the tournament, a feat previously achieved by eight men at this level.The ease with which he brushed aside all nine break points against him reflected his confidence.It took two return games for Jannik Sinner to drag the Czech back down to earth.Ten minutes in, Sinner had already broken Lehecka’s unbreakable serve.
As has usually been the case over the past few years, Sinner burst into the lead and refused to let it go.In a match repeatedly delayed by ain, it took Sinner some time to reach his intended destination, but the Italian secured one of the greatest achievements, defeating the 21st seed 6-4, 6-4 to win the Miami Open title.Sinner is the eighth man to win Indian Wells and Miami, known as the Sunshine Double.Sinner, the world No 2, has won 34 consecutive sets at Masters level, dating back to his triumph in Paris in November.He is just the third man, after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, to win three consecutive Masters events and the first to do so without dropping a set in those three triumphs.
A day after Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s No 1, followed up her own Indian Wells title by winning here, this is the fourth time a male and female player have completed the Sunshine Double in the same year.The past few weeks have been the greatest of Lehecka’s career.His ability to strike the ball with devastating pace and clean timing has been evident for years, but it was not until Miami that things began to come together.He reached the final with a win over the sixth seed, Taylor Fritz, and an imperious dismantling of Arthur Fils in the semi-final.However, no matter how well his opponents may be playing, Sinner represents an enormous step up in quality.
Lehecka had already learned this the hard way.In their most recent meeting, a third-round match at the French Open last year, Sinner humiliated the Czech, leading 6-0, 5-0 before winning 6-0, 6-1, 6-2.This was a better showing from Lehecka.After dropping serve early, he found his rhythm behind his enormous serve and forehand, limiting Sinner’s opportunities until deep into set two.He generated one half-chance while leading 4-3, 0-30 on Sinner’s serve in set two.
However, in addition to his nuclear-grade groundstrokes, his movement, return of serve and innate toughness, every time the Czech generated a half chance, Sinner’s serve instantly shut it down,Sinner’s dominant March feels even more noteworthy considering how he started the year,His five-set Australian Open semi-final loss to Djokovic, was far from ideal and he followed it up with one of his poorest performances of the past few years, losing in three sets to Jakub Mensík,But Sinner is not a robot, despite how some of his opponents describe him, and the season is long,It comes as no surprise that he has quickly found his rhythm.
With this result, the race for the ATP No 1 is on.Sinner received a three-month doping suspension last year, meaning he has had zero points to defend in February, March and April.These excellent recent performances place him about 1,500 points behind Carlos Alcaraz.Alcaraz and Sinner have continued their duopoly at the beginning of the season: the world No 1 winning in Australia and Qatar and Sinner taking the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles.Perhaps the biggest upset of the year is three months into the new season they still have not faced each other.
County season arrives with fresh hope of domestic displays paving path to international stage
Not everyone is optimistic it will be the case, but players should start the season believing performances will be noticed by the England setupPeter Moores could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at England’s backing for Brendon McCullum after four years as head coach and that bleak Australian winter. Moores was afforded barely three during his two spells in the job, neither of which included an Ashes series.But as his Nottinghamshire side begin the defence of their County Championship title away at Somerset on Friday, Moores is keen to look forwards. During his Ashes mea culpa, the England team director, Rob Key, said he wanted better communication with the counties on selection, music to the ears of the leading domestic coach.“If I was a county player, I’d be more excited about starting this season than the one before,” says Moores, whose captain, Haseeb Hameed, should be among those aiming to state their case
‘Worst case I get to ride a lot’: Lael Wilcox on her quest to become the fastest human to cycle round the world
After setting the women’s around-the-world record two years ago, the Alaskan is aiming for a new mark with her next 18,000 mile journeyOn 11 September 2024, Lael Wilcox returned to Chicago after 108 days in the saddle, smashing the women’s around-the-world cycling record by more than two weeks. The extraordinary feat had taken her 18,000 miles over remote mountains and across 22 countries. But it left Wilcox with a lingering question: could she break Mark Beaumont’s outright record of 78 days and 14 hours?Shaving 30 days off her time would require a major pivot in philosophy from adventure riding to pure racing, with an emphasis on efficiency, aerodynamics, and rigorous planning. Motivated to prove that women can compete with men in ultra-cycling, Wilcox will start her second attempt on 7 June in Chicago.Wilcox, who was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, is no stranger to beating men in high profile races
Mercedes’ Wolff says Antonelli and Russell are ‘off the leash’ to race … for now
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, leaders of the Formula One world championship in a dominant Mercedes car, are “absolutely off the leash” to race one another, their team principal, Toto Wolff, has said. Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, the 19-year-old’s second victory on the trot and with Russell managing only fourth, the Italian leads his teammate by nine points.Wolff insisted there was no plan to use team orders between them unless it becomes necessary later on. “We’re three races in, the car is good so we need to continue to do our job and give them a tool that they can continue to win or fight for the positions,” he said.“Towards the end of the season we’re going to see how the points fall and whether anything needs to be done
Landmark changes to insurance cover for female athletes to be implemented
Female athletes are to benefit from a major breakthrough in insurance cover for pregnancy, contraception, menopause and other health conditions, as part of the implementation of recommendations in the Carney review.The Women’s Football Taskforce commissioned Loughborough University – announced recently as the world’s No 1 university for sports-related subjects for a 10th consecutive year – to work with leading insurance providers and brokers to ensure female athletes are offered appropriate support in their insurance coverage.The changes to insurance provisions for female athletes will address specifically the blind spots that exist in regards to pregnancy, contraception, menopause, health conditions and conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as relative energy deficiency in sport (Red-S).Red-S is a complex syndrome caused by low energy availability, where an athlete’s food intake does not meet the demands of training. This can lead to metabolic, hormonal and physiological changes, with common indicators including stress fractures and disruptions to the menstrual cycle
Leeds and Warrington thriller is fitting gift on Super League’s 30th birthday
It began with an explosion of noise and a wave of excitement on the fringes of Paris in 1996, and as Super League celebrated its 30th anniversary weekend in the slightly more rugby league-centric surroundings of Leeds on Sunday, it felt an appropriate time not only to look back, but forwards, too.Amid all of the missed opportunities – more on those later – and boardroom frustration that have often dominated the past 30 years in the competition since its seismic switch from winter rugby to summer, one thing Super League has almost always managed to count upon as a consistent force is the entertainment on the field.That was emphasised on Sunday at Headingley, one of the competition’s renowned amphitheatres, when Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves served up a thrilling birthday present with a contender for the standout game of 2026 so far. It was Leeds who edged it, 26-22, just as they have so many times in the past three decades, but both will fancy their chances of silverware this year.Perhaps in a way it was fitting that it was two heartlands clubs who were around in 1996 that were the teams who took to the field on this significant anniversary
Andrew Bogut accused of body-shaming 36ers owner during NBL championship series
The Adelaide 36ers have lodged a formal complaint with the NBL over body-shaming comments allegedly made by Sydney Kings co-owner and assistant coach Andrew Bogut.In another twist to the bitter ongoing championship series, the Sixers on Monday accused former NBA player Bogut of making “persistent and repeated personal attacks” towards 36ers owner Grant Kelley.Reports emerged over the weekend that Bogut and Kelley had a heated exchange after Adelaide’s defeat of the Kings in game two of the championship series. Kelley claimed Bogut made comments about his weight in the tunnel, which Bogut later disputed.“Let’s just say I’m the size of Akebono the sumo wrestler, that’s my journey, that’s my issue,” Kelley told Code Sports on Sunday
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