Rome – Nothing overtaking Jannik Sinner on Carlos Alcaraz: in the semi-final of the 1000m Indian Wellswhich also offered the number 2 ranking, the Italian lost to the Spaniard in three sets. The final score reads 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 5 minutes of play, punctuated after just three games with a three-hour suspension due to the storm that hit the Californian town.
For the 22 year old from South Tyrol also one fell in the third set with a blow to the arm which seemed to hold him back. Alcaraz thus achieved the second consecutive final at Indian Wells in which the Russian Daniil Medvedev, already defeated a year ago. The Muscovite beat the American Tommy Paul 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-2. The challenge was two-sided: Sinner dominated the first set, which ended at 6-1, showing great athletic condition and extraordinary effectiveness from the baseline and on serve.
In the second set the twenty-year-old Spaniard recovered, immediately set a break and won 6-3. In the third the turning point probably came with the fall in the fourth game of Sinner who injured his right arm while recovering a shot, which was then massaged by the long man. Alcaraz prevailed 6-2, with a double break advantage. Now Sinner, who had already been beaten on the hard courts of Indian Wells last year by the Spaniard, will be able to try to take revenge again at the Masters 1000 in Miami, scheduled from next Wednesday to March 31st.
“All matches with Jannik are special, against him I always have to give 100%”, admitted a very sporty Alcaraz who on the pitch inquired several times about his rival's condition after the fall. “I was mentally strong and it's very important”, he added, “you have to be if you want to win these types of matches against an opponent who is playing incredible tennis. I'm really happy to be back in the final, especially in this tournament.”
“I felt small problems in various parts of my body“, explained Sinner in the press conference, “I need some time to understand how I feel, let's see how I wake up and how I will feel tonight, cold. After that blow to my right elbow I felt pain, my hand also hurt, I was afraid of making the situation worse. But that's not an excuse, he played better. However, I am confident of being in Miami.”
“In the third set when I fell I hurt my elbow, and before that there was also a small problem with my left knee which blocked me a little. I threw myself without thinking to catch that ball, this is also part of the game, of the battle: I knew that was an important point.” “He deserved the victory, no one can doubt this”, underlined the world number 3, “I missed a lot of easy balls that I had in mind, it can happen. I have to talk to my team and understand if it was due to tension or simply a bad day, which can happen.”
Italian tennis can console itself at least with Matteo Berrettini who tonight at 10pm Italian time will challenge the Portuguese Nuno Borges, holder of the tournament, in the final of the Challenger tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. In the semifinal the 27-year-old Roman defeated the Australian Aleksandar Vukic in two sets, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), in two and a quarter hours of play.
“It's been a long time since the last tournament, I'm trying to have fun and enjoy these moments on the court”, commented Berrettini, number 154 ATP, who returned to competing on the Phoenix hard court thanks to a wild card after a seven-year stoppage. months due to the right ankle injury suffered at the US Open. For Berrettini, reaching the final required a marathon of over five hours spread between the afternoon and evening. In fact, just three hours before the semi-final, he had beaten the French Terence Atmane, number 136 ATP, in three sets, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6), in two hours and 53 minutes. minutes of the match.
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