Jannik Sinner came back from one set down to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 5-7 6-4 6-4 reaching the first ATP Masters 1000 final of his career at the age of 19 at the Miami Open.
Sinner beat Bautista Agut for the second time this year after his three-set win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sinner saved four break points in the opening set and hit 25 more winners than Bautista Agut.
Sinner becomes the fourth teenager to reach the Miami final in the tournament’s 36-year-old history following in the footsteps of André Agassi in 1990, Rafael Nadal in 2005 and Novak Djokovic in 2007.
Bautista Agut started the opening set with an immediate break at 15. Sinner earned two break points in the second game, but Bautista Agut saved them to hold serve at deuce for 2-0. Sinner got three break-back points and converted his first chance to draw level to 3-3.
Sinner saved three break points with his first ace to hold serve after three deuces in the seventh game. Bautista Agut broke serve in the 11th game and served it out to clinch the first set 7-5. Sinner committed 17 unforced errors on his forehand in the first set.
Sinner fended off three break points at 3-3 0-40 with three winners to hold serve turning around the match in his favour. The Italian 19-year-old Next Gen player held serve from 0-0 in his next service game before clinching a late break at 5-4 in the 10th game to force the match to the decider.
Bautista Agut broke serve at love in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. The Spaniard won his 12th consecutive point to hold serve at love for 3-1. Sinner hit his groundstroke to break back at love in the sixth game for 3-3 and converted his first match point with his second break at love in the 10th game.
Sinner has got through to his second ATP Tour final this year after winning the title at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne in February. He will be bidding to win the third title of his career after Sofia 2020 and Melbourne in 2021. He becomes the second Italian player to reach a Masters 1000 final after Fabio Fognini, who won the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in 2019.
Sinner will face either Andrey Rublev or Hubert Hurkacz on Sunday. The Italian teenager will have the chance to win the biggest title of his career.
“It feels unbelievable. I am very happy. It’s always tough to play against Roberto. He is a very solid player. In the beginning I think we were both a bit tight. Then after we both played a bit better. At the end I just tried to serve better, tried to move him a bit more and mix things up a bit. I think that was the key. Two weeks ago we played in Dubai, we had a tough one there. Today it was not easy to play, because it was windy. I am very happy about reaching the final here in Miami. I tried to play my game. I just tried to make my game, tried to move him a little bit. Special thanks to my fans ”, said Sinner.
Bautista Agut was playing in his fourth Masters 1000 semifinal. He reached the final in Shanghai in 2016. The Spanish player saved a match point against John Isner in the Round of 16 before beating Danil Medvedev in the quarter final.
