After winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2 in their Miami Open semifinal, Italy’s Jannik Sinner put the brakes on Carlos Alcaraz’s pursuit of the “Sunshine Double” and his reign as the top player in the world.
Alcaraz will lose his number-one ranking to Novak Djokovic on Sunday, and Sinner will compete against the Russian Daniil Medvedev. With a victory over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, Medvedev advanced to his seventh straight ATP Tour final (7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3). The frustration from his struggles with leg cramps in the third set will tint the sadness for the 19-year-old Alcaraz, who was the defending champion in Miami and had just won at Indian Wells.
With a remarkable 25-shot exchange in the seventh game, the opening set had been exciting and entertaining because of both players’ power-hitting displays.
The Spanish ultimately prevailed in the tight, high-calibre set after a tie-break, but a determined Sinner rallied in the second set. Although Alcaraz broke back to tie it 2-2 after Sinner’s break in the first game, the 21-year-old Italian knew his opportunity was drawing near and displayed confidence in his strong groundstrokes.
Injury worries
In the decisive set, the world’s top player was having trouble moving and was broken on his first serve. He knelt down on his baseline between points, looking uncomfortable. He also gave his team in the stands some worried and perplexed looks.
Sinner went on to make some more cautious stroke choices. Although Alcaraz seemed to be on the mend a bit, the Italian came out on top in three hours. Alcaraz claimed that his issues began after the second set when he went to the bathroom.
“I took a five-minute toilet break, and yes, things did calm down a bit for me. I had to stop myself. My muscles began to spasm a little.
“At the start of the third set, I started getting cramps, but that wasn’t the reason I lost the game. I returned… Even though I was beginning to feel better, Jannik clearly outperformed me in the third set. That is the reality, he declared.
Sinner claimed he could sense how high the calibre of their matchup at Hard Rock Stadium had been. Sinner had fallen to Alcaraz in straight sets in their previous meeting at the same stage in Indian Wells.
“Playing tennis is incredibly enjoyable when both players play in this manner, and the spectators can feel it. It was filled with wonderful energy. Simply put, it is enjoyable to take part in games like these, he remarked.
cc: UKSports News
