Four seeded players remain in Miami, but the semifinal lineup is without question a surprising one. Although Andrey Rublev’s presence is not unexpected, the story is a different one for Roberto Bautista Agut, Jannik Sinner, and Hubert Hurkacz.
(7) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (21) Jannik Sinner
Bautista Agut and Sinner will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for a spot in the Miami Open final on Friday afternoon. The just faced each other a couple of weeks ago in Dubai, where Sinner prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. It was still a successful run for Bautista Agut in the Middle East, where he finished runner-up in Doha–his second final appearance of the year. The 12th-ranked Spaniard has not slowed down in Miami, beating Jan-Lennard Struff, John Isner, and No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev en route to the semis.
Sinner’s fortnight includes victories over Hugo Gaston, Karen Khachanov, Emil Ruusuvuori, and Alexander Bublik. Only Khachanov took him to three sets, but a 7-6(5), 6-4 quarterfinal defeat of Bublik was not easy. A much different kind of contest awaits in the form of Bautista Agut, who will test Sinner from the baseline. It is going to be windy on Friday and those conditions should help the veteran, who probably has the edge regardless of outside factors based on his most recent performance against Medvedev.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 3
(4) Andrey Rublev vs. (26) Hubert Hurkacz
Rublev and Hurkacz will also be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous meeting came last fall on the red clay of Rome, where Hurkacz got the job done 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2. Of course, Rublev was making a quick turnaround and a surface transition after reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals the previous week. The eighth-ranked Russian has been on fire ever since, with four 500-point titles in the last five months plus a quarterfinal performance at the French Open. He owns a tour-leading 20 match victories in 2021 after defeating Tennys Sandgren, Marton Fucsovics, Marin Cilic, and Sebastian Korda all in straight sets.
Hurkacz is coming off consecutive three-setters against Milos Raonic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the latter whom he upset from 6-2, 2-0 down on Thursday. The 37th-ranked Pole preceded those results by ousting Denis Kudla and Denis Shapovalov in straight sets. Hurkacz is in great form this season, but he has to be running on fumes both mentally and physically. And similar to Sinner, the conditions on Friday will not help his game. All signs point to Rublev rolling to another mostly routine win.
Pick: Rublev in 2
Hurkacz and Korda have been the two surprise packages of the tournament. Results looked very unpredictable. I haven’t watched any but will try to watch these finals matches.
Medvedev hasn’t really stamped his authority which suggests he’s not going to be a dominant world number one if he every gets there.
He can match it with the top guys and even dominate them when he hits a good patch but he’s a notch below them still. He’s probably a notch below Murray as well.
but is really annoying and frustrating to play against augut,i mean the guy is a tough nut to crack,and has almost none to minor mistakes,didnt watch the ²nd set but medvedev was clearly irritated by his performance,in set ² he was like ”whatever” and lost,sinner is a big talent,but augut should get this win,maybe even 2-0,so i will go with augut win,and low on 2-0
Remember my Sinner prediction? To make at least the semis of a major, I think, as well as make the final or win a Masters…and here we are.
Enjoy your look at the Top Ten minus the Big Three. Men’s tennis just ain’t what it used to be without them. Unpredictability hath its charms though.
Rublev was being overrated also. Ricky thought he was the next Yevgeny Kafelnikov.