Isner-Hurkacz pairing too strong for Special K's, advance to Miami doubles final

The wildcard pairing of John Isner and Hubert Hurkacz dismissed Australian Open champions Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semifinals of the doubles event at the Miami Open on Thursday.

In a battle between strong servers, Isner and Hurkacz prevailed with a 6-4 6-3 victory. There were a surprising six breaks in this match, with five of those breaks coming in consecutive games across the two sets. That run started and ended with Kokkinakis surrendering serve. After Isner was unable to close out the opening set at 5-3, Kyrgios could not extend the set on his own delivery.

A trade of breaks opened the second set, and Hurkacz/Isner again got the better of the Kyrgios serve late to set up the Pole to serve out the match to love. The Polish/American duo will face sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the final on Saturday.

Seeking their first ATP Tour title as a pair, both Hurkacz and Isner have previously won ATP Masters 1000 doubles titles. Hurkacz, who is also through to the singles semi-finals, won the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters title with Felix Auger-Aliassime, while Isner is a four-time doubles champ at the Masters 1000 level, including his Indian Wells title with Jack Sock two weeks ago.