Two young tennis stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz produced a brilliant moment during their semi-final clash at the Indian Wells ATP Masters. The duo were engaged in a thrilling contest at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in the quest to seal a place in the final. It was the second set of the semi-final with 6-1 and 1-3 in favour of Sinner and he managed to produce a sensational moment to regain momentum.
Sinner was trailing behind in the second set and Alcaraz executed powerful serving duties as the Italian star had to reply with a backend return. The duo made some cheeky attempts in an incredible rally to stamp their superiority as in the end, it was Sinner who went to manage it. The crowd was mesmerised by the high level of tennis they witnessed.
The thrilling semi-final was also hampered by the rain in the opening set. The current Australian Open champion was up 2-1 on serve in the opening set when he and defending champion Alcaraz departed for the locker room as light rain made the Stadium Court too slippery to play on.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz went on to produce a sensational comeback after losing the first set to beat Sinner in the semis 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to seal his place in the summit clash. It was Sinner’s first defeat of 2024 as Alcaraz ended his sensational 19-match winning streak.
The massive win ensured that Alcaraz will remain No. 2 in the world rankings next week.
A few errant forehands from Sinner gave Alcaraz an opening in the third game of the final set and he gained the break when he came out on top with a high backhand volley to end another scrambling rally. The Italian star seemed powerless to stop Alcaraz, who won five straight games, eventually clinching the match with a forehand winner on his third match point.
“(I’m) really, really happy to beat Jannik and obviously being in the final again,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing his first title since his Wimbledon triumph last July.
“I stayed strong mentally,” Alcaraz said. “I think that’s a really important part in this game.
“This kind of match, a set down playing against someone that’s playing an unbelievable game — I’m really happy with the things I’ve done.
“I changed my style a little bit, I changed my game a little bit, and I think it worked very, very well.”
In Sunday’s final, he will face either fourth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev or American Tommy 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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