Carlos Alcaraz remained on course to defend the BNP Paribas Open title in Indian Wells after ending Jannik Sinner’s perfect start to the year after a thrilling three-set win.
Just three games were played before a three-hour rain delay but when they returned it was Alcaraz who found a way to turn to contest on its head and make it through to his sixth Masters 1000 final with a 1-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Alcaraz snapped Sinner’s 19-match winning streak and ended the Italian’s perfect 16-0 start to the 2024 season to take his place in the final where he will play Daniil Medvedev or home favourite Tommy Paul, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
“I stayed strong mentally and that’s very important. You have to be strong mentally if you wanna win this kind of matches against someone who is playing unbelievable,” said Wimbledon champion, Alcaraz.
“Very happy with the things that I’ve done after the first set. It worked very well. Very happy to beat Jannik and be in the final again.
“I had to run more… defend better than I did in the first set. More balls in. Stay strong on the court. We played a lot of long rallies. I stopped missing in the second, third, fourth ball.”
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inner showed incredible athleticism to somehow come out on top in one of the points of the year so far
Sinner returned after a three-hour rain-delay and won four straight games to take the opening set 6-1 in 37 minutes over a shell-shocked Alcaraz.
In a near-flawless opener, the Italian was consistent with his depth of shot and powerful groundstrokes to move Alcaraz around the baseline.
The Australian Open champion hit six winners, winning 65 per cent (11-17) of his first serve points and 86 per cent (6-7) of his second serve points in a marquee clash between the good friends and rivals.
It’s absolutely incredible, the ball striking. I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball so hard, so consistently and look so in control. It really does look like the tennis Sinner is accustomed to playing. This hitting is at a different level.
Alcaraz bounced back to take the second set with the Spaniard needing a single break of serve before closing it out with a drop shot from the heavens.
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Alcaraz broke early in the deciding set after another unbelievable rally
Sinner was stretching out his calf muscle and was subsequently broken in the third game of the deciding set as the Spaniard began to dominate and dictate proceedings.
Tale of the Tape
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