ATP Masters Indian Wells: Alcaraz vs. Sinner - so far always great cinema
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner meet today in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells (from around 10:30 p.m. on Sky and WOW). The four encounters between the two on the ATP tour so far have been great fun.
by Robin Huiber
last edit: Mar 18, 2023, 12:46 pm
Carlos Alcaraz's record after his comeback a few weeks ago is impressive: the Spaniard won the tournament in Buenos Aires to start with, but then failed in Rio de Janeiro in the final against Cameron Norrie (whom he had defeated in the Argentine capital ). And now Alcaraz is in the semi-finals of Indian Wells, with the sugar-sweet carrot in front of his nose that he can take the lead in the ATP world rankings again if he wins the tournament.
However, this will still be a really hard piece of work. Because with Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz has to play against an opponent who doesn't suit him very well. But that also applies the other way around. And which means that the previous encounters between the two on the ATP tour always had something special to offer.
- Least of all the premiere at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy in autumn 2021. Alcaraz won 7: 6 (1) and 7: 5.
- Things got tougher at Wimbledon the following summer. Alcaraz and Sinner clashed in the round of 16 with the prospect of playing Novak Djokovic afterwards. Or have to. After a 6: 1, 6: 4, 6: 7 (6) and 6: 3, this task fell to Jannik Sinner (who lost against Djokovic after a 2: 0 set lead in five rounds).
- Things got interesting a few weeks later in Umag. After the 7:6 (8) in the first set, Alcaraz seemed to be on the right track towards defending the title. And then no longer have an order at all. Sinner won the following two sets 6: 1 and 6: 1 and thus the title in Croatia.
- But the absolute highlight was the encounter at the US Open last year. In the fourth set, Sinner had it on his bat to thwart Carlos Alcaraz's first Grand Slam title in the quarterfinals. As so often, the Spaniard showed great fighting spirit and won 6: 3, 6: 7 (7), 6: 7 (0), 7: 5 and 6: 3.
Here the individual tableau in Indian Wells
iwmap