Jannik Sinner ends major drought with hard-fought victory in SI:AM return

Jannik Sinner erased a painful Grand Slam drought on 12 July 2026 with a gritty win at SI:AM, ending weeks of speculation about his form.

Sinner defeated **Grigor Dimitrov**, the Bulgarian veteran, 6-4 7-6(5) in a two-set thriller that stretched past two hours. The Italian saved three of four break points in the opener and broke Dimitrov once to clinch the first set. A tight second set went to a tie-break, where Sinner saved two championship points before seizing his own at 7-5. The win snapped a five-tournament losing streak at majors for the world No. 4.

The victory ends months of scrutiny over Sinner’s Grand Slam performances. Since the Australian Open in January, he had lost in the first round at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, and exited early at the Miami Open. The SI:AM title is his first since the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin, a stretch that saw him drop from the top seed in Melbourne to fourth in the rankings. His serve, often a weapon, clicked under pressure: he landed 68% of first serves and won 81% of points when he put the ball in play on his own delivery.

Dimitrov, seeded eighth, started with a 3-0 lead before Sinner reeled off four straight games. The Bulgarian clawed back to 4-4, but Sinner broke in the ninth game after a 23-shot rally. In the second set, Dimitrov saved two set points at 5-6 and pushed the match to a tie-break. There, Sinner saved two championship points at 5-6 and 6-7 before closing it out on his third opportunity. The Italian finished with 28 winners to Dimitrov’s 24, while committing 22 unforced errors against 19 for his rival.

Sinner now eyes the North American hard-court swing, starting with the Canadian Open in Toronto on 28 July. The Italian is seeded third and could face **Carlos Alcaraz** in a potential quarter-final rematch of their Miami clash in March. His ranking points from SI:AM vault him back into the top four, but the real test is consistency. His next two events are both Masters 1000s, where he’ll need to go deep to regain momentum before the US Open.