Hurkacz Cruises into Miami Open Final Against Sinner

By Daniel Perissé

With a solid performance, Hubert Hurkacz booked a meeting with Jannik Sinner in the Miami Open presented by Itaú Men’s Singles final after defeating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.

The Polish was the lowest-ranked player among the semifinalists, at No. 37, but prevailed over the Russian, current World No. 8. In the semifinal, he had beaten World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, also in the top ten.

After seven minutes of play, the Polish already had a break and was up 3-0. Hurkacz extended the lead to 5-1, but Rublev came back to 5-3. The Polish, however, was able to close the set in the following game, after losing four other set points.

In the second set, Hurkacz quickly had a 4-2 lead, while Rublev did not seem to have any power to stop the Polish. When the Russian was serving at 3-5, Hurkacz lost his first set point.

The 24-year-old Polish needed two more set points serving at 5-4 to clinch his first ATP Masters final.

With today’s result, Hurkacz is now 9-0 playing in South Florida this season – in January, he won the Delray Beach Open.

“Yeah, I think now I’m in the moment. I’m just trying obviously super happy to be where I am now, but now we try to prepare as best as we can for that final match on Sunday,” said the first Polish to reach a Masters final since 2012.

The 24-year-old plays now Jannik Sinner, who needed three sets to overcome Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. This will be their first meeting.

“Jannik hits the ball very hard from both sides. I Have to try to stay aggressive, and yeah, like try to play my best tennis.”

The Men’s Singles final is scheduled for Sunday, April 4^th.