Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, on Saturday, handed Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner his first defeat of 2024 to return to the Indian Wells ATP Masters final, beating the Italian 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Just three games were played before a three-hour rain delay in the California desert, 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 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 Sunday’s final where he will play fourth seed Daniil Medvedev or home favourite Tommy Paul.
He said: “I stayed strong mentally. I think that’s a really important part in this game. You have to be strong mentally if you want to overcome this kind of matches, a set down against someone that’s playing an unbelievable game.
“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 beats Nadal at Netflix exhibition
“I had to run more… defend better than I did in the first set. I kept more balls in and stayed strong on the court. We played a lot of long rallies but I stopped missing the second, third, fourth balls.”
The victory ended Sinner’s 19-match winning streak, including a 16-0 start to the year, and insures Alcaraz will remain No. 2 in the world rankings next week.
It was the second straight year that Alcaraz stopped Sinner in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
Sinner had won both their meetings since and rode a 19-match winning streak into the contest. His 16-0 start to 2024 included his maiden Grand Slam title in Australia and a victory at Rotterdam last month.
In Sunday’s final, Alcaraz will face either fourth-seeded Medvedev or American Paul with a chance to become the first repeat Indian Wells ATP champion since Novak Djokovic won three straight titles from 2014-2016.
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