The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz reached the final of the Masters 1000 de Indian Wells by beating the Italian Jannik Sinner by 1-6, 6-3 y 6-2 in just over two hours. It was a kind of revenge for the second seed of the tournament, since his rival had beaten him in the last two matches and, in addition, the Italian He was undefeated in his 16 games that year.. This Sunday, the Spaniard will play the decisive match against the winner of the match that the American will later hold. Tommy Paul and the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
“I stayed mentally strong. It is an important part of this sport. To overcome this type of match it is essential to do so. After the first set I changed my game a little“It worked well and I am very happy to have beaten Jannick,” said the Spaniard after the victory, and already in the Indian Wells final. Alcaraz, who will continue to be number 2 in the world ranking on MondayHe added: “I had to run more, defend better than I did better in the first set. I tried to stay firm on the court. I changed my return style a little, trying to put the ball inside the court and stayed more in the exchanges. In the longer rallies before he had made too many mistakes and that cannot be done against a player like Jannick,” he said about his evolution in the second set. You will have a little less than a day to rest: as a Sunday aperitif, the Greek Maria Sakkari will play with the polish girl Every Swiatek the women’s final (from 15 in Argentina).
The match between Sinner y Alcarazalready a classic of the new generation, was delayed for two hours when the score was 2-1 in favor of the Italian. The storm that raged over Indian Wells forced the tennis players to go to the locker room and wait for the Californian sky to clear. They had to wait two hours, and, upon resumption, the tennis storm was Sinner. The tall Italian won absolutely everything in the set, and took the partial in just 37 minutes, thanks to two break points (at 2-1 and 4-1). Sinner hit what he threw: on the lines, at the net, with his first serve, from the base. The difference between the two was abysmal and could be seen on the young Spaniard’s face: He encouraged himself at each point and looked for his tennis shoes, which did not appear.
With no margin for error, Alcaraz reacted in the second set. He began to put the ball in play, improve his aim and better use the drop-shot, his favorite weapon to close the point every time he managed to get his rival out of the limits of the court. That second set left several points that could well make it into the Top 10 of the tournament, and even be among the best of the season. Yes, even though March has just passed. The talent of both was demonstrated in several passages. One of them ended up being the breaking point of the match: the goal that Alcaraz scored in the net, and which allowed him to break Sinner’s serve to go 3-1 up. There the script of the match changed, because Alcaraz found himself on equal terms, despite having lost the first set. Sinner, on the other hand, was beginning its decline.
In the fifth game, and with the score 15-0 for Sinnerthe point of the match: a pure wrist exchange on the net that ends with a wide shot from the Spaniard. Both tennis players celebrated the show, smiles through. Beyond that ephemeral point, the proceedings of the match were now on the side of the Spaniard, who seemed recovered from the beating received in the first set. He needed to specify it on the scoreboard, where he was still in tow. Sinner went 2-4 and seemed to want to show his rival that the break had passed, that he could still resolve the fight quickly, in two sets.
But there was no case: Alcaraz took the best of his repertoire and began to take advantage of some physical discomfort from his rival. He closed the second set 6-3 and everything went to the third round. There, a point with the score tied 1-1 was a free sample of what would come later: Alcaraz saved a very strong shot from Sinner on the net as if he were a soccer goalkeeper against a penalty or a point-blank shot. The Italian left everything and more to avoid the double whammy. The point was from the Spanish. The Italian, on the other hand, added to his concerns: in addition to the pain in his leg, he suffered a blow to his left elbow and wrist. His face at half-time said it all: it was uphill.
Hit on the net
Alcaraz enlarged, and when the Spaniard gets bigger he brings out the best in himself. While Juan Carlos Ferrero, his coach, asked him for calm, his pupil responded with winning shots. And he took advantage of the fact that Sinner had his sights off. He collected unforced errors, missed the court and seemed worried. He almost hadn’t left and the final result was a matter of time. Sinner tried a reaction, to no avail. Because Alcaraz was superior in energy, in blows and, above all, in mind. He finished him off in his third match-point. The one who celebrated little, because the procession went inside. Alcaraz, like his compatriot Rafael Nadal did so many times, overcame adversity thanks to his head. And that mental strength is a warning for his rivals.
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