Sinner’s brake was Alcaraz, finalist again in Indian Wells | Tennis | Sports

Sometimes, the best remedy is a timely step back, downshifting and applying one of the classic universal recipes: stop and think. Rectify if applicable. The scene demanded a swerve from Carlos Alcaraz, dazed at first and then overwhelmed, overwhelmed by the overwhelming proposal of Jannik Sinner until the second set arrived and he found a pause, inhaled strongly, expired like a dragon and oxygenated an approach that until then moment had been extremely wrong; which later, blessed turn, the maneuver so simple and so perfect, would turn out to be genius. In Indian Wells, my friend, I’m in charge. And the disorientation changed neighborhoods. Long face for the Italian, without a single scratch so far this year, and the redemption of the Spanish: 1-6, 6-3 and 6-2 (after 2h 05m). He will, therefore, be the one to debate this Sunday (10:00 p.m., Movistar +) with the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the same obstacle as a year ago, in search of his second title in the Californian desert.

Masters 1000 Indian Wells – semifinal –

Strange, strange, this year in Indian Wells, the scene of various setbacks and anomalies. The sandstorm is accepted, apparently something relatively common, but not so much about Thursday’s episode with the bees – no trace of them this time – nor about this Saturday, when as soon as the duel between the two began chosen young people, the sky turned black and the discharge of water – four or five days a year it must rain there, they say – delayed the action for three hours. Three games had passed, 17 minutes. On the way back, Alcaraz made a mistake, got messy and paid dearly for the skid. In addition to losing the serve, thanks to a double fault, a thick red carpet was rolled out for Sinner to rule the entire first set at will, the Italian more than delighted in that frenetic melee that he, today, dominates without discussion. The Murcian entered the trap, fell into the trap and found himself under a shower of blows as disconcerting as it was brief. The first set lasted 36 minutes.

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Completely out of place, the one from El Palmar found relief in the box, from where his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, loudly demanded patience and more patience. The turn. “Make the long point!” “Point to point, let’s not think any further!” “Balls in and play!” “No hurry! And when you have it, decision! The hammering of slogans had an effect. The boy, still docile, got the message and understood that the only variable that offered him an escape was to slow down, go back a couple of meters and take power away from the ball; that is, more spin, avoiding the flat ball, more heights; a change in pattern that would force the opponent to think more than necessary. Sinner, who attended as a competitor in an absolute state of trance – 16 consecutive victories this year, 19 since the last Davis Cup – feels at home in the territory of vertigo and outrage, of abbreviation, so the rewriting of the script and the consequent loss of command led him little by little towards collapse.

Carlos Alcaraz, during the match against Sinner.JOHN G. MABANGLO (EFE)

“I have been too predictable at times,” the one from San Candido later lamented. “That is the lesson I draw today, tennis is a sport of balance. Sometimes you are too direct and sometimes it is good to stop. I have missed a lot of right hands,” continued number three, who had won the last two crosses – with Beijing, October, as the closest reference – and could have increased the emotional gap if he won. Now, however, the head-to-head is tied (4-4) and Alcaraz can show his chest because there was no one who could stop Sinner, champion in Australia and also in Rotterdam; incontestable until he corrected on the fly, he reacted with intelligence on a strategic level—those two steps back in the returns and the reduction of power in the shots, a very Nadaliano— and found the right path to straighten a pulse that did not lack spectacularity and a couple of delicious shots on the net.

Alcaraz and Sinner greet each other at the end of the match.JOHN G. MABANGLO (EFE)

“I have stayed mentally strong, that is a very important part of this sport. You have to be strong in the head to overcome these types of matches. I have changed my game a little, and I think it has worked very well,” appreciated the winner, who thanks to the victory safeguarded the second place in the world that his rival would have taken from him in the event of a contrary outcome. “I had to defend myself better than I did in the first set, put more balls in and try to stay strong. I changed my style in the remains, I was further to the back of the court, putting in more remains and posing long exchanges. In the first set I made mistakes on the second, third or fourth ball, and against someone like Jannik that is not possible,” added Alcaraz, who at 20 years old—two years younger than Sinner, 2001 vintage—continues to learn and tries to add to his its gloss palette a greater range of solutions; that is, have a plan B or C, if circumstances require it.

Carlos Alcaraz, after beating Sinner.JOHN G. MABANGLO (EFE)

Now, the Spaniard opts to revalidate the title achieved last year in the Californian desert. He will do so in his sixth Masters 1000 final, the first he has reached in 2024—regardless of the tournament category—and, in turn, the first he will play since he lost against Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati, August. As happened last season, the guerrilla Medvedev will be in front again, who came back from the American Tommy Paul in the second semifinal (1-6, 7-6(3) and 6-2, after 2h 24m) and will try to compensate for the current gap Between both. “If I play against him,” Alcaraz warned before knowing who he would face this Sunday, “I know very well how to do it. We have faced each other several times [3-2 a su favor] and I know what strategy to use, although I am not going to say it.” In any case, the triple concept acquires value in its script: stop, think, rectify. Properly interpret the moments. Because tennis goes far beyond beauty.

DJOKOVIC WILL NOT PLAY IN MIAMI

A. C.

Novak Djokovic confirmed yesterday that he will not participate in the Miami Masters 1000 that will begin next Wednesday. The 36-year-old Serbian fell on Tuesday in his second appearance in Indian Wells, against Luca Nardi, and will now give priority to the family plot. “At this stage of my career, I am balancing my private and professional agenda,” he noted in a message issued through his social networks.

The number one—420 weeks to date, something like eight years—already warned at the end of last year that he intended to moderate his presence on the slopes and invest more time with his wife and two children. The premature elimination in California – against the 123rd in the world – has not changed his mind and he will rejoin the circuit in April, when the clay court tour begins in Monte Carlo. This year, Djokovic has played in Australia (semifinals) and Indian Wells (round of 32); in total, eight games.

On the other hand, Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari will collide this Sunday in the women’s final (7:00 p.m., Movistar+); The number one and the Greek will reissue, in this way, the pulse of 2022, decided in favor of the first.