The two best young stars in men’s tennis faced off in Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open semifinal. It was a back-and-forth match in the first two sets. Janik Sinner won the first set decisively 6-1. Carlos Alcaraz bounced right back and won the second set 6-3. In the third set, it was anybody’s game but it ended up being all Alcaraz as he won the third set 6-2.
Three-Hour Rain Delay
The match was supposed to start at 4:30 pm ET but didn’t actually start until 7:30 due to rain. It was a similar story for the match between Coco Gauff and Maria Sakkari last night as well. That match was delayed for almost three hours also. Rain is especially bad on hard courts because it doesn’t absorb into the court like it does on clay courts. On clay, it can rain a little bit before the courts are unplayable. On hard courts, they become unplayable shortly after it starts raining. One would think that with such a long delay, the players’ energy and momentum would suffer and that the tennis wouldn’t be as good; that couldn’t be further from the truth. We were treated to an awesome match by two of the greatest players in today’s game, no shade to Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz Won The Break Point Battle
The 20-year-old Spaniard won three out of his six break points in the match. Sinner did not have as many break points, having four and winning two of them. Despite Sinner’s massive serve, it proved no match for Carlos Alcaraz. With him, it doesn’t matter what you throw at him, bees, three-hour-long rain delays. Carlos is going to get the job done.
His work ethic reminds me of Rafael Nadal. It makes sense since they’re both from the same country. They both have that knack for grinding out points and not relenting. Their opponent has to beat them. They are not going to beat themselves.
STATEMENT.
Defending champ Carlos Alcaraz ends Jannik Sinner's 19-match (!) winning streak with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to reach back finals in Indian Wells.
11 consecutive wins in IW
6th Masters 1000 final (4-1*) at 20yo.
Now 4-4 vs. Sinner (ATP level)Stays at #2 in the world pic.twitter.com/4BiO8jNhcf
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 17, 2024
Points won off of the first and second serve and were pretty even between Alcaraz and Sinner, as well as first and second serve percentage. Carlos Alcaraz converted 65 percent of his first serves and Sinner converted 62 percent. Alcaraz won 70 percent of his first-serve points apposed to Sinner’s 65 percent. The second-ranked player in the world won 57 percent of his second-serve points to Sinner’s 58 percent.
Jannik Sinner’s Overeager Play
The Italian phenom tried to end points too early sometimes. He was a bit too aggressive in this match which is something that isn’t usually said. It’s usually the other way around. Sinner was going for too much in this match and it wasn’t working for him. This was happening especially when he was falling behind. He was trying to get himself back in the match too quickly. He didn’t have a great deal of patience which is a key characteristic in tennis sometimes. Let the point come to you; don’t force it.
This ends Jannik Sinner’s 16-0 start to 2024. He is in good company on this records list that includes him tied with Roger Federer in 2006, just behind another all-time great Pete Sampras at 17-0 in 1997, Roger Federer again in 2018 (17-0), and current number one in the world Novak Djokovic at 17-0 in 2013. The other players on this list are Rafael Nadal at the number three spot on this list with a 20-0 start in 2022, and Novak Djokovic sitting at number one on this list (of course!) at an insane 41-0 start in 2011.
It really pleases me that the Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz rivalry has hype-ability. I miss the Big 4 match-ups but this feels different, fresh, unique and has potential for career longevity…
Let's seeeeeee. ? pic.twitter.com/8LvewU4Rfo
— Scott Barclay (@BarclayCard18) March 16, 2024
Despite this loss, the 22-year-old Italian has a very bright future ahead of him. Jannik Sinner is the third-ranked player in the world at 22 years old. That’s pretty special.
Who Will Carlos Alcaraz Play Next?
Carlos Alcaraz will play Danil Medvedev in the BNP Paribas Open final. He is 3-2 against Medvedev in his career. The match is Sunday, March 17th at 5:00 pm ET.