Pablo Scarpellini Indian Wells (California)

Indian Wells (California)

Updated Sunday, March 17, 2024-03:06

  • Tenis Alcaraz shakes off the bees to sweep Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz

will continue to be

number two

in the ATP ranking and will play his

second consecutive final in Indian Wells.

It is not a minor matter considering that in front of him he had a player who had not lost a single match in 2024. The Spaniard knew how to hold on in a clash that was more tactical than brilliant to beat

Jannik Sinner

in three sets (1-6, 6 -3, 6-2) and defend his crown in the Californian desert.

The challenge seemed huge:

defeat the man of the moment on the professional tennis circuit, a Sinner who had not lost in 16 consecutive matches and who had won the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open before reaching the semifinals of Indian Wells.

Alcaraz himself had already said it before the meeting.

"He is the best player in the world right now, without a doubt. I really enjoy watching him play, so it's going to be a pretty complicated game. It will be a huge challenge for me."

The last two matches, in fact, had fallen on the Italian's side, both the Beijing and Miami semifinals, in a match that was resolved in three sets.

But Alcaraz arrived at the height of his game and sensations, destroying

Auger Aliassime

and

Zverev

on his way to revalidating the title.

In the semifinals it was an exercise more in head and composure than in brilliant tennis.

Rafael Nadal

has said it

on several occasions:

you have to know how to win even when you don't have the day.

Alcaraz did not have it despite the victory, with interruption of play included for the second consecutive round.

This time it was not an invasion of bees

but the rain.

There are few days of rainfall per year in this part of the Californian desert, with more than 300 dry days, but El Palmar seems to be attracting peculiar luck in this edition of the tournament.

Unlike the day of the bees, the break did not sit well with the Murcian.

He came out cold on the court after the long interruption

, and with two unforced errors and a double fault, he began to leave the set ready for the Italian.

He tried to react by going on the attack, but his rival did not allow herself to be intimidated.

In the exchange of blows, the transalpine was better.

He not only hits furiously with his forehand and backhand from the back of the court.

He defends himself better than ever.

Sinner took advantage of the second break

point

he had and took the first set in the blink of an eye, with 71% of first serves inside and 12 unforced errors from the Spaniard.

A small gap on the track between the two in 36 minutes.

Juan Carlos Ferrero,

the Murcian coach, asked him to be calm and patient so that he could return to the game.

"Point to point, we don't think any further,"

he instructed him from the stands.

And his pupil seemed to understand the concept.

He calmed down and began to regain a better level of tennis.

He increased the percentage of first and the rest waited for their moment to force their first

break

balls .

He converted the first to dream of a stubborn manga and get out of the hole he had gotten himself into.

Along the way, both left one of those points on the net that brings the stands to their feet.

They both smiled with the exchange of genius.

Alcaraz managed to even out the clash but not without suffering along the way.

Taking a set from Sinner these days is not an easy task.

The Italian had break points in the seventh and ninth games to regain equality in the set, but ended up giving in to two points of pure talent from the Spaniard (6-3).

In the final set the match thickened.

Neither of them could easily win their serve, carefully measuring each point so as not to make a mistake.

Sinner began to reach for the back of his right leg, as if something was wrong, and ended up rolling on the ground to defend the dramatic outcome of the break point that gave the Spaniard the advantage in the third game of the set. .

From there, everything flowed in favor of Alcaraz.

Sinner's expression changed and his tennis sank,

with two

breaks

down and the unmistakable feeling of a lost opportunity after having clearly dominated the match at the beginning.

Sinner will have to settle for an outstanding streak of victories to start the season and his first Grand Slam on the way.

Awaiting Alcaraz is the winner of the clash between

Tommy Paul and Daniil Medvedev

for the title, the Russian whom he destroyed in last year's final.