Jannik Sinner ‘has no clue’ when Miami Open final will start as schedule ravaged | Tennis | Sport

Jannik Sinner and Jiri Lehecka have been made to wait to get on the court for the last match of the Miami Open. The No. 2 seed will face the Czech star in Sunday’s final, and they were due on court no earlier than 3pm local time (8pm BST), but play has been repeatedly delayed by on-and-off rain.

The women’s doubles final had started on the Stadium Court at 12.30pm local (5.30pm BST) but was suspended around an hour later, and there has been no action since. The doubles will conclude on the Grandstand Court, so Sinner and Lehecka can get the men’s final underway as soon as possible. But even the players themselves “have no clue” what could happen with the schedule.

Former Wimbledon champion and Sky Sports pundit Marion Bartoli had a chat with Sinner and his team during the delays, and revealed that they had been left in the dark about potential start times for their matches. Not only that, but the 2024 champion also doesn’t know whether the final will continue to be interrupted once it’s finally underway.

“I just had a chat with Darren Cahill, Jannik Sinner and Simone [Vagnozzi] as well, they’re all sort of hanging in there. And I asked both of them, ‘Do you have any sort of update? Is it quite clear what’s the plan for the rest of the day?’ And to be honest, even the players have no clue of what is going on exactly,” Bartoli explained.

“They just had a starting time which was 3.45pm local time, which I think is going to be even later. But after that, I think it’s quite blurry, even for the player himself to know exactly what he’s in for.

“Whether it’s going to be a straight final once you get on the court that is clear from rain, or if he’s going to have some stop-and-go. I think he is ready for anything. Darren told me, ‘Marion, you have been out there, you know what it is [like]!’”

A former world No. 7, Bartoli knows exactly what it’s like to hang around in the locker room during rain delays, and she believes neither player will be too affected by the constant schedule changes on Sunday.

“We are playing for a big stage. It’s a Masters 1000 final, the players will do whatever it takes to get on that court and to play that final. Jannik Sinner can do a historical thing by doing the Sunshine Double, only seven other players have been able to do it. Jiri Lehecka, it’s a big day for him. So, as a player, honestly, you don’t really mind. It’s part of the game, you have been used to it,” she added.

Sinner’s coach, Vagnozzi, also explained that the Italian hadn’t been too affected by the delays, as he still managed to have a hit on the Stadium Court before the rain came on Sunday, and was well-prepared. “He was lucky to have the warm-up on the centre court with a lot of people watching around the court! But he was able to hit the ball for half an hour in the centre court, so he’s ready to go,” Vagnozzi said.

Luckily, Sinner and Lehecka didn’t have to wait too much longer. The rain stopped and the courts were dried, and they walked out onto the Stadium Court shortly after 4.20pm local (9.20pm BST). Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, and Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend also took to Grandstand to continue the women’s doubles contest.

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