Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz failed in the semi-finals of the Masters in Miami and lost the top position in the world rankings to Novak Djokovic after two weeks.
The 19-year-old Spaniard, who had won his previous ten matches without losing a set, lost to the Italian Jannik Sinner after more than three hours 7: 6 (7: 4), 4: 6, 2: 6.
The 21-year-old Sinner, number eleven in the world, will face the former industry leader Daniil Medvedev from Russia in the final on Sunday. For Sinner it would be the first title in a Masters.
For Alcaraz, who was struggling with muscular problems in his thigh, it was only the second defeat this year. “I got cramps at the beginning of the third set, but that wasn’t the reason why I lost the match,” said Alcaraz: “Jannik was better than me in the third set. That’s the truth.”
The Spaniard previously won the titles in Buenos Aires and at the Masters in Indian Wells, in Rio de Janeiro the reigning US Open champion reached the final.
At the parallel women’s tournament in Miami, Wimbledon champion Jelena Rybakina from Kazakhstan and Czech Petra Kvitova will play the title in the final on Saturday.
