VIDEO: Alexander Bublik hits crazy 169 km/h return winner vs. Jannik Sinner

Despite a decent ranking position and some notable results, the young Kazakh Alexander Bublik had failed to make an impression at the Masters 1000 level before Miami.

Alexander changed that in the last week in Florida, beating Laslo Djere, James Duckworth and Taylor Fritz to advance into the semi-final and achieve his by far the best Masters 1000 result.

The aggressive Kazakh faced the upcoming young Italian Jannik Sinner in the battle for the semis and suffered a 7-6, 6-4 loss in an hour and 40 minutes. Jannik saved seven out of nine break points and earned three breaks from nine opportunities to seal the deal in straight sets and move into the last four.

Alexander opened a 5-3 advantage in the opener before Jannik pulled the break back in game ten to extend the set. The youngster saved a set point in game 12 and claimed a tie break 7-5 for a massive boost.

The Kazakh had a 3-0 lead in set number two before the Italian turned the tables and claimed six of the last seven games to move over the top. In one of the best strokes of the entire encounter, Bublik fired a thrilling forehand return winner in the opening set's seventh game, clocking the speed of 169 km/h to remain in the game.