Tennis: Sinner into Miami semis after beating Ruusuvuori

Jannik Sinner celebrates after his match against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland. PHOTO: USA TODAY SPORTS

MIAMI GARDENS, United States - Italy’s Jannik Sinner eased into the semi-finals of the Miami Open after a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori on Wednesday.

The game was delayed for two hours by rain with Sinner 2-0 up in the second set but there the stoppage did nothing to change the momentum of the match.

In the last four, Sinner will face the winner of Wednesday’s other quarter-final between world number one Carlos Alcaraz and American Taylor Fritz.

The 23-year-old Ruusuvuori was the first Finnish player to feature in a Masters 1000 quarter-final since Jarkko Nieminen a decade ago, but he came up against Sinner in determined mood.

The 21-year-old from South Tyrol has not dropped a set so far in Miami and he coped well with the first break point of the match, holding in the fourth game.

The Italian, who has not lost to a player outside the top 50 this year, never looked back after that brief threat, breaking the Finn’s serve for 3-2 and again to win the set.

An early break in the second further established his control of the match and while the rain made him wait for victory, he needed just 74 minutes on court to finish off the 54th-ranked Finn. AFP

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