Carlos Alcaraz’s defense ended at the Miami Open losing to Yannick Sinner in the semifinals

Carlos Alcaraz’s hopes of defending the Miami Open were halted on Friday night as he was beaten 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2 by Italy’s Yannick Sinner in the semifinals.

The defeat will end Alcaraz’s reign at the top of the world rankings, with Novak Djokovic set to take over the world number one spot on Monday.

Tenth seed Sinner stunned top seed Alcaraz, rallying from a set down to defeat the defending champions in a thrilling three-hour match.

Sinner ended Alcaraz’s 10-game winning streak. Sinner’s solid grounding match wore down Alcaraz, who appeared to convulse early in the deciding third set while also dealing with an apparent finger injury.

The 21-year-old Siner, who reached the final of the Miami Open last year but never made it past the quarter-finals of a major tournament, will meet Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the championship match on Sunday. Medvedev beat Sener in all five meetings.

Alcaraz has been pretty dominant lately, and hasn’t dropped a set since the February before Sinner’s run in Miami humidity. The Alcaraz hype train had breakaway NBA stars Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler popping in to watch the Spanish star from the teal benches.

Alcaraz also fought Sinner in Indian Wells in the semifinals, it was a tight match but not quite like this. These two young cannons are preparing for a long and exciting competition. Sinner’s victory ended Al Carazo’s hopes of becoming the first player since Roger Federer in 2017 to win the Sunshine Doubles if Indian Wells and Miami.

Medvedev beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 on the same day that Wimbledon announced that the Russians would be allowed to return.

Medvedev has won 23 of their 24 matches – the only loss against Alcaraz – and is in their fifth consecutive final.

Also on Friday, No. 15 seed Petra Kvitova defeated unseeded Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-3 in the second women’s semi-final. Kvitova will face Elena Rybakina in the final.

Alcarazou won the first set in a tiebreaker but that took a lot from the 19-year-old Alcarazos side. Between points in the third set, Alcaraz stretched noticeably during the third set, trying to avoid cramps and waved to the fans for support.

Despite getting a second down on serve, Cener stunned Alcaraz in the ninth game, breaking his passion to go up 5-4 and then sealing it out. Alcaraz won 21 straight sets.

The ATP coach came out to come to Alcaraz midway through the second set, and checked one of his fingers before the spasms set in.