The next tennis star may have emerged Friday in the men's semifinals at the Miami Open Masters.
Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old from Italy, knocked off Roberto Bautista Agut, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the finals against Hubert Hurkacz. In the process he became just the fourth teenager to earn a berth in the Miami Open title match in tournament history.
Sinner entered play as the No. 21 seed and defeated No. 14 Karen Khachanov, No. 32 Alexander Bublik and No. 7 Bautista Agut as he ran through the tournament. Now he's two sets away from winning the whole thing on Sunday.
No. 26 Hurkacz pulled off his own upset on Friday over No. 4 Andrey Rublev, 6-3 6-4, taking the four player seeded 12th or higher since reaching the third round of play.
Men's Semifinal Results
No. 26 Hubert Hurkacz def. No. 4 Andrey Rublev: 6-3, 6-4
No. 21 Jannik Sinner def. No. 7 Roberto Bautista Agut: was a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
Recap
Hurkacz's upset over Rublev was almost ruthless.
The 24-year-old drilled eight aces, saved four of five break points and picked up wins on 60 percent of his first serves. That helped Hurkacz go up 3-0 in the first set and 3-1 in the second set as he easily took care of Rublev.
That's not to say the match wasn't without drama.
Hurkacz looked a bit on edge midway through the second set as Rublev made it 3-2, but that was as close as Rublev came to a comeback as Hurkacz took three of the next five games to close out the win.
Sinner had a much tougher time with Agut on Friday.
After falling in the first set, Sinner and Agut were tied at 4-4 late in the second set before the Italian was able to take charge. Sinner took the two following games then stumbled again early in the third and final set.
The teenager trailed 3-1 after four games, then knotted thing up a 4-4. It was the last time Sinner saw any trouble as he took the final two games with ease.
Overall, Sinner drilled five aces, won 98 of 189 total points, broke Agut's serve four times and earned a win on 65 percent of his first serves. He might not be the biggest star in the sport yet, but if past is prelude, he's certainly one to watch closely over the next few years.
