Jannik Sinner ‘the best tennis player in the world’ claims Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner has continued his winning streak at Indian Wells, setting up a blockbuster semi-final with Carlos Alcaraz once again.

Sinner beat 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka, 6-3 6-3, to extend his winning streak to 19 matches after winning the Australian Open at the start of the year.

And the Italian has been praised by rival Carlos Alcaraz, who labelled Sinner as ‘the best tennis player in the world’.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I’m gonna approach the match,” said Alcaraz. “He’s the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt. He’s playing unbelievable — no losses this year. I really enjoy watching him play. So it’s going to be a really difficult match. It’s going to be a big challenge for me and see what is my level facing him.

“The last two matches that I have played against him I lost, so I have to adjust a little bit my game. Let’s see how it’s gonna be.”

Sinner has a winning record against Alcaraz, but lost their semi-final match to the defending champion at last year’s Indian Wells.

The Australian Open champion has previewed the contest with ‘good friend’ Alcaraz, drawing comparisons to ‘the big three’, “It’s always fun to play with him. We are good friends off the court. On the court, we just try to give 100 percent. I think we have a good attitude on court.”

He continued, “Usually the matches are good. Last year against him, especially here on this court, I struggled a lot. He played much better than me; two weeks after I played Miami against him where I won, so let’s see. I think every player you struggle to beat, you have a point where you have to work on.

“There is not only Carlos; there are other players what made me grow as a player. When you reach this kind of level then, you have to work again for different stuff. For sure he might change a couple of things trying to beat me. I have to be ready. If he beats me, you have to work again on little details. I think that’s really good and nice to see. I reckon that’s what the past big three or big four or have done in a similar way. We try to do the same, no?”

Sinner and Alcaraz will play for an eighth time tomorrow, with the winner securing the world No.2 position after the tournament.

???? THIS IS NOT A DRILL ????@janniksin faces @carlosalcaraz on Saturday!#IndianWells | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/7jWjaBmpif

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 15, 2024

Inside the baseline…

When the draw was made for Indian Wells this year, a lot of eyes were drawn to a potential Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz semi-final and that is just what has happened. It is hard to argue that Sinner is the best player in the world at the moment, having won all 16 matches he has played this year, so it will be interesting to see if Alcaraz can be the one to bring an end to the Italian’s incredible run.

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