Italy's teenage sensation Jannik Sinner came back from a set down to beat seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals of the Miami Open on Friday to book a final clash with Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.
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Italy’s teenage sensation Jannik Sinner came back from a set down to beat seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals of the Miami Open on Friday to book a final clash with Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. Sinner had grabbed the world’s attention with a run to last year’s French Open quarterfinals and he carried on his recent impressive form by defeating Bautista 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and thus became only the fourth teen to reach the men’s final in the 36-year history of the ATP Miami Masters. Hurkacz, seeded 26th, won his second straight match over a top 10 player, beating Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4. Coming off a quarter-final win over second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hurkacz became the first player to take a set off Rublev at the tournament.
It’s the first time he has earned two top 10 wins in the same tournament. Meanwhile Sinner joined 1990 champion Andre Agassi, 2005 runner-up Rafael Nadal and 2007 winner Novak Djokovic as Miami teen finalists.
“Today we both showed great tennis. It was not easy. It was a little bit windy as well. I’m very happy about my performance today,” Sinner said after the win.
Sinner’s win very nearly featured a controversial moment though as he nearly smashed a racquet in a tense second set.
“Sometimes you get the frustration going but just trying to stay calm, which is how I am normally. Sometimes you have to scream or do something else, but don’t break racquet. Please let me don’t break racquet,” he said of the incident.
Sinner is now aiming for his third career ATP title after last year at Sofia and February in an Australian Open tuneup at Melbourne. He is focusing on the long-term for now, although he was happy to make the finals.
“This kind of stuff can help you a lot. It’s good to be in finals here but it doesn’t mean anything.
“The road is very long and I want to improve day after day and we’ll see what’s coming.”
Interestingly, Hurkacz and Sinner are doubles teammates which means they would be famillar with each other’s games.
“It is going to be a fun match,” Hurkacz said about the final clash.
