World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz registered a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory against his arch-rival Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the Indian Wells. Alcaraz came up with his best against the Italian and took one more step towards his BNP Paribas Open title defense.
With this win, the Spaniard snapped Sinner’s 19-match-winning streak and 16-0 start in the ongoing season 2024. The Australian Open champion bagged the opening set convincingly by 6-1 but Alcaraz bounced back in the second set, breaking Sinner’s serve in the fourth game.
Subsequently, the Spaniard broke Sinner’s serve in the third game of the final set. This win also helped Alcaraz in leveling the ATP H2H record against Sinner at 4-4. Alcaraz attributed his mental strength to his win against the Italian.
“I stayed strong mentally,” said Alcaraz, who pointed to his head after the win. “I think that’s a really important part in this game. You have to be strong mentally if you want to overcome these kind of matches, a set down against someone that’s playing an unbelievable game. I’m really happy with the things that I’ve done after that.
“I changed my style a little bit, I changed my game a little bit and I think it worked very well. I’m really happy to beat Jannik and be in the final again.”
Alcaraz revealed he defended well in the last two sets and changed his return style, which helped him savor success.
“I had defend better than I did in the first set,” he said of the changes he introduced to spark his comeback. “I had to put more balls in, try to stay strong on the court… I changed my return style. I was more on the back of the court, putting some returns in, getting myself more in the rallies.”
Alcaraz will face Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday night.
Valencia have pleaded with the La Liga authorities to postpone its match with Real Madrid… Read More
Daniel Dubois has been given the go-ahead from the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to fight… Read More
Manchester United has seen their attempt to appoint Rúben Amorim as Erik ten Hag's successor… Read More
Reports have emanated from France that Randal Kolo Muani could leave Paris Saint-Germain for as… Read More
Nuri Sahin has come under fire after Borussia Dortmund's start this term, but has received… Read More
In an early showdown between two of the NBA’s most promising young big men, Chet… Read More