Jannik Sinner has been the man in form since the end of the 2023 season. The Italian has found the best form of his career and has big wins to show for his improvement. The 22-year-old is on a 19-match winning streak and is up against his biggest rival, Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Indian Wells 2024. However, there is one Alcaraz memory from the US Open that he would wish to not remember.
Before his Australian Open 2024 triumph, Jannik Sinner struggled to get over the line in Grand Slams. The 22-year-old suffered a close loss at the quarterfinals of the US Open 2022 against Carlos Alcaraz. Then in 2023, Sinner lost a thrilling 5-setter against Alexander Zverev to get knocked out in the Round of 16 in New York.
Against Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open 2022, Jannik Sinner had a match point in his favor which he could not capitalise on. As a result, Alcaraz made the most of that missed opportunity and went on to use the momentum he got from winning that Sinner match to go on to lift the title, the first major of his career.
In a press conference after his win against Ben Shelton at Indian Wells, Sinner has admitted that these losses helped him improve as a player. The Italian admitted that these defeats hurt him a lot and gave him sleepless nights, but in the end he worked on it. Sinner believes these defeats are all a process of him improving as a player.
“There have been some matches, like the match against Carlos at the US Open, for example, when I had match point. And then also last year against Sascha at the US Open. Even if it hurts, I just try to understand what happened. Couldn’t sleep during the night because you’re still thinking about the match. It’s all about the process you can understand and trying to work harder the next day.”
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz set to meet at Indian Wells 2024
Carlos Alcaraz has been trophyless since his Wimbledon 2023 triumph and will be aiming for success at Indian Wells. However, Sinner is arguably the man to beat in men’s tennis right now. The Italian star is fresh off title wins in Melbourne and Rotterdam and has won 36 out of his last 38 matches. With both the young stars set to go head-to-head, this promises to be a thrilling clash.
Jannik Sinner leads Carlos Alcaraz 4-3 on head-to-head. The Italian has won the last two encounters against his rival. Also, Sinner will be the favorite to win his clash against Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells 2024 semi-final. With Djokovic already out of the tournament, the winner of this clash could be considered the favorite to win the title.
