Jannik Sinner stuns Carlos Alcaraz in battle of the young guns in Miami

The 21-year-old Italian overcame the 19-year-old Spaniard 6-7 6-4 6-2 to book a meeting with Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the final.

After coming up just short in a gruelling first set, Sinner looked to be on the verge of exiting the tournament as he trailed by two break points and 3-4 in the second.

Instead, he roared to life, claiming 19 of 21 points to clinch the set and a 2-0 advantage in the decider.

Alcaraz rallied briefly, but it was not enough to topple the world number 11.

The loss ends Alcaraz's brief return to the number one ranking with Novak Djokovic set to take over the top spot on Monday.

"It means a lot. We both played a very, very high level of tennis again. I just tried my best," Sinner said after the epic clash.

"In the third set I saw him struggle a little bit for a couple of games so I tried to push there... We both tried to play very aggressive tennis and today it went my way so I'm very happy."

Alcaraz expressed his disappointment with the defeat but also stated that he was proud of the performance they both displayed.

"I had my opportunities to break in the second set and serving for the match, but really against Sinner is always a tough battle," the 19-year-old said. "It's tough to put into words but I think it was a great match for both.

"I don't think about that I lost the No. 1, I lost the Sunshine Double. Of course it's a shame, but I think I'm gonna have more years to try to get it.

"I feel something different about the crowd when I play against Jannik. I think around the world is probably all the people watching this match because I think it's really beautiful to watch."