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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz - Indian Wells 2024
ATP Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

Jannik Sinner hopes Carlos Alcaraz rivalry ‘has just started’


Jannik Sinner has discussed his rivalry with world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz, with the Italian revealing that it helps him see ‘new perspectives’.

Sinner saw his 19-match winning streak come to an end at Indian Wells last week, with eventual champion Alcaraz beating him in the semi-final.

Despite the defeat, Sinner appears to want the rivalry to continue for many years to come, “I enjoy it [the rivalry], hopefully it has just started. He’s an incredible player and usually when we play it’s a very good match up. We both try our best on the court. We have a lot of respect for each other.

“Off the court we don’t speak that much because he has his own things and I have my things, but on the court he’s a player who can show so many things on the court.”

Sinner and Alcaraz are often compared to each other due to their positive results at such a young age, but the Australian Open champion has implied that they are very different.

“He has a lot of emotions, he shows a really good fighting spirit,” Sinner said about Alcaraz. “Everyone is different, I am not showing so many emotions on the court, but it works as well for my side.

“I’m very happy always when I face him and it gives me a chance to see a new perspectives for what I have to work on. Last year I lost against him also in the semi-finals there. I just try to be ready and hopefully I can do also this year the same.”

The 22-year-old will be looking to return to winning ways at the Miami Open this week, and has played down the disappointment about his winning streak coming to an end.

“It’s just a match,” replied Sinner. “Every tournament you go to, it’s a new opportunity and here is a new opportunity again for me to show some good tennis. There are tough situations on the court which I have to solve, like in every other match and then that’s it.”

He continued, “No, I was not even thinking about the wins and the losses throughout the year. I knew that the point [the defeat] was going to come. I’m happy that it came in a quite late stage of a tournament which means a lot to me, the semi-final in a [Masters] 1000 event is still a great result.”

Sinner, who is a two-time runner-up at the Miami Open, will return to the match court later today against compatriot Andrea Vavassori.

While Alcaraz is bidding to become only the eighth man in history to complete the sunshine double, and will start his campaign against fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena tomorrow.

Inside the baseline…

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the clear front-runners in terms of leading the ATP Tour over the next decade. Their rivalry is extremely exciting, especially as it is often so close with both players having three wins apiece in the current head-to-head. With Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the Miami Open, there is a lot of hype about a potential final between Sinner and Alcaraz – especially as the sunshine double would be on the line for the latter.

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.