Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz ended Italian Jannik Sinner’s undefeated streak for the year at the ATP Masters series tournament in Indian Wells, securing a 1:6, 6:3, 6:2 victory to keep his title defense hopes alive. Alcaraz is set to face Daniil Medvedev from Russia in the final, just like last year, after Medvedev also came from behind to win his match against local player Tommy Paul after losing the first set. Until his match with Alcaraz, Sinner had won all 16 matches of the season, extending his winning streak to 19 games. The “fifth Grand Slam” saw Jiří Lehečka unsuccessfully attempt to halt Sinner in the quarterfinals.
The twenty-year-old Spaniard turned the match around after a rain delay and maintained his second place in the world rankings ahead of the Italian. “It’s incredible that I managed to end it,” Alcaraz commented on his opponent’s winning streak. “Matches with Jannik are always exceptional,” added the reigning Wimbledon champion after the match with this year’s Australian Open winner, which was delayed by rain in the first set for three hours. Sinner was leading 2:1 at that point, but after returning to the court, he won four more games.
Then, Alcaraz changed his strategy, starting to approach the net more and breaking the Italian’s serve for the first time in the fourth game. “I changed my game, and it worked. And above all, I stayed mentally strong. The mind is key,” Alcaraz said. In the decisive set, he converted more breaks in the third and fifth games. Alcaraz made a total of 24 unforced errors, Sinner 38. Medvedev also turned his semifinal match against Paul around, defeating the American 1:6, 7:6, 6:2.
