Carlos Alcaraz was delighted with his performance as he continued his march in the Indian Wells, reaching the final after beating Jannik Sinner by 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinal on Saturday. With this win, the Spaniard moved one match closer to reclaiming the top position in the ATP Pepperstone rankings.
With both players holding their serve for the tiebreaker, Alcaraz smashed a potent backhand at 6-4 to take the first set. The young Spaniard then broke the Italian’s serve in the second game of the second set to put himself in front.
“I’m really happy with the performance today,” said Alcaraz, who has not lost a set this tournament. “I’m really happy to get through this great match. Jannik obviously is a really great player with great shots.
“I would say we’re going to have a great rivalry over the years. We are playing in the best tournaments in the world. It’s not over here. We are going to play a lot of great matches. All I can say is I’m really happy with my first final here in Indian Wells.”
The number one seed admitted that playing against Sinner is tough as he has all the weapons in his armory. Alcaraz now has a 3-2 advantage in the H2H contest against Sinner.
“Playing against Jannik is never easy. I had to overcome a few problems. I had set point down,” Alcaraz said of that crucial period. “I knew that I had to increase my level to [beat] Jannik. It was a really close first set. In the second set I put out all the nerves and played more relaxed. I think it was the key of everything.”
Alcaraz will face in-form Daniil Medvedev in the final of the BNP Paribas Open and he feels he will need to be at his absolute best against the Russian.
“I really want to play against the best tennis player in the world,” Alcaraz said, looking ahead to the final. “I always say that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and I would say that Daniil is the best player right now… amazing winning streak.
“For me, it’s going to be a really difficult challenge but I’m really prepared for that. I will summon my best tomorrow in the final.”
Alcaraz will take the top spot in the rankings if he wins against Medvedev.
