Sinner beats Bautista Agut to reach first Masters Series final in Miami

Miami Open, semi-final
Sinner (No 21) d. Bautista Agut (No 7) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

• The headline: Jannik Sinner is through to his first-ever ATP Masters final after a three-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
• Other key info: Sinner will play either Andrey Rublev or Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday’s final
• Why you should read this story: Sinner is the fifth-youngest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 singles final after Michael Chang, Richard Gasquet, Andrei Medvedev and Rafael Nadal.

19-year-old Jannik Sinner is through to his first-ever ATP Masters Series final after a hard-fought three-set win over seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut at the Miami Open on Friday.

Seventh game in second set crucial in Sinner’s victory

Looking for his first ATP Masters title, Bautista Agut started off well to claim the first set 7-5.

Eyes on the prize 👀

🇪🇸 @BautistaAgut grabs the first set 7-5 over Jannik Sinner.#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TaV86zRW9w

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 2, 2021

Despite his younger age, it was Sinner who showed nerves of steel at a critical juncture in the second set. The Italian came from 0-40 down in his serve at 3-3 to hold serve and then win the second set 6-4.

Not done yet 💪

🇮🇹 @janniksin fights grabs the second set 6-4 and forces a decider against Roberto Bautista Agut.#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/Gv7ezaWPNV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 2, 2021

Sinner also came from 1-3 down in the final set and won 20 of the last 27 points to complete the 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win.

The result, which will take Sinner to at least No 21 in next week’s rankings, makes him the first teenager to reach the Miami final since Novak Djokovic in 2007. He is also the fifth-youngest to reach an ATP Masters 1000 singles final after Chang, Gasquet, Medvedev and Nadal.

The kid is alright 💪@janniksin defeats Roberto Bautista Agut 5-7 6-4 6-4 to become the youngest man to reach the #MiamiOpen final since Rafael Nadal in 2005. pic.twitter.com/phycrZ6H8X

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 2, 2021

 Very happy to reach the final

Not surprisingly, Sinner was delighted to reach his first ATP Masters series final.

“It feels unbelievable,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “It’s always tough to play against Roberto. Two weeks ago we played in Dubai, we had a tough one there. Now, a tough one here. I’m very happy about reaching the final here in Miami.”

Sinner, who has 2 ATP singles titles under his belt, will meet the winner of the second semi-final on Friday between fourth seed Rublev and 26th seeded Hurkacz.