BNP Paribas Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner to reach Indian Wells final
Carlos Alcaraz said before the BNP Paribas Open began that the right hamstring injury that has ailed him early this season was fine. Some close to the sport, including tournament director Tommy Haas, said that if the Spanish tennis star was indeed healthy, he’d be incredibly tough to beat.
Turns out both were true.
Alcaraz has looked smooth all tournament at Indian Wells, without any hint of his hamstring bothering him, and his run culminated in a 7-6(4), 6-3 semifinal win Saturday over Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
With tournament owner Larry Ellison, tennis icon Rod Laver, tech mogul Bill Gates, recording artist Pink and actress Charlize Theron among the celebrities in attendance, Alcaraz went one step further than his 2022 semifinal appearance in Indian Wells against his boyhood idol, Rafael Nadal.
"I feel great," Alcaraz said. "This is a tournament that I love playing. I have great memories, my first semifinal for a Masters 1000 here against Rafa. It was really special for me. Coming back this year and making final is a really special moment for me."
Alcaraz went up a break in the first set before Sinner broke him back to force an eventual tiebreak, in which Alcaraz scored the final three points. In the second set, Alcaraz again went up a break and held serve to finish out the match.
Alcaraz, the top seed in the draw, will face Daniil Medvedev on Sunday in the BNP Paribas Open final. Neither player has won an Indian Wells title.
Alcaraz, who has not lost a set this year in five matches at Indian Wells, has a chance at history Sunday. The last Indian Wells men’s champion to not lose a set was Roger Federer in 2017, though he got help from a walkover along the way. The last man to win the title without losing a set in at least six matches was Nadal in 2007.
As the reigning Miami Open champion, Alcaraz also has a chance to become the ninth and youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. Alcaraz turns 20 on May 5.
A title at Indian Wells would also make Alcaraz the only teenager ever in the men’s game to win the three biggest American tournaments — Indian Wells, Miami and the U.S. Open.
Additionally, if Alcaraz wins Sunday’s final, he will regain the world No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic on Monday. He is currently ranked second. Djokovic withdrew from Indian Wells after he was not granted an exception to travel into the United States as a foreigner who is unvaccinated for COVID-19.
Sinner, 21, and Alcaraz had split four prior tour-level meetings. The most recent came in a match that lasted five hours and 15 minutes and ran until 2:50 a.m. at the 2022 U.S. Open quarterfinals. Sinner won a third-set tiebreak 7-0 to take a two-sets-to-one lead, but Alcaraz saved match point en route to his first Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz is now 13-1 on the year and he’ll next face Medvedev, perhaps the one player in the world who has had a better start to the season. Medvedev will be looking to win his fourth tournament of the year and advance his current win streak to 20 matches.
Medvedev won the only match between he and Alcaraz. But it's almost two years since they last played. Alcaraz was barely 18 and new to the World Tour at the time while Medvedev was ranked second in the world.
"Now it's totally different," Alcaraz said. "I'm an experienced guy. Well, or at least I'm more experienced than in that match. I know how to play against him. I practice with him a few times, as well, so it's not new thing for me right now. So it's gonna be, I think, a totally different match."
Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner to reach Indian Wells final
