On March 16, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will resume their rivalry in the semifinal of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The stakes are always high when these two meet as it represents the future of men’s tennis, with their rivalry poised to define the sport for years to come. They will play to reach the Indian Wells final and World No.2.
Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz
Head-to-Head Record
Sinner holds a slight edge in their head-to-head record (leads 4-3). Alcaraz leads 3-2 on hard court events.
Sinner has been playing lights-out tennis and is on a 19-match win streak this year, the youngest man in the Open Era to do so. On the other hand, Alcaraz has not won a title since his epic victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.
“He is the best player in the world right now. without a doubt. For sure it’s gonna be the most difficult match that I’m gonna play this year,” said Alcaraz about Sinner in his press conference.
The momentum has shifted from when these two faced each other in the same round last year at this venue. Alcaraz won that match in straight sets, but Sinner has won their last two matches, is on this win streak, and is in the form of his life.
When asked in the press whether this rivalry with Carlos has pushed his own game in any way, Sinner replied, “Yeah for sure. I think every player, when you struggle to win or to beat, you have a point where you have to work on. 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 Big 3 or Big 4 have done in a similar way. We try to do the same, no”?
US Open Classic
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have already played some great matches against each other in their short careers, but the highlight remains the US Open quarterfinal in 2022.
Alcaraz prevailed in this epic match which lasted for 5 hours and 15 minutes and finished at 2:50 a.m. The Spaniard went on to win the title and by doing so, became the youngest World No. 1 in ATP rankings history.
Sinner was potentially one shot away from flipping the script. The Italian served for the match at 5-4 in the 4th set and missed a cross-court backhand on match point.
What made this match epic, apart from the drama, was the level of tennis–which was off the charts from set one to the end of set five. Sinner and Alcaraz hit a combined 144 winners and only 101 unforced errors. Anyone who witnessed that match knew they were witnessing something great.
Battle of Forehands
The forehand has always been a key shot in this matchup and it will be the same on Saturday. Sinner’s forehand has been outstanding and a key element in his dominance. When Alcaraz was dominating before his slump, his forehand was the best in the world but in the past six months or so his forehand has been the one leaking errors.
This week though it looks more like the former from Alcaraz as his forehand is right at the top with sinner according to ATP insights.
They have contrasting forehands, with Sinner having more control and net clearance on his shot while Alcaraz has more variety–from pinpoint drop shots and 100 mph winners–but also tends to make a lot of unforced errors when off.
Sinner’s ability to dictate play from the baseline puts him on an elite level. His ability to defend aggressively is second to none and with the addition of him coming to the net more frequently to finish points, it will be a herculean task for anyone to beat him.
Alcaraz seems to have found his best tennis at the right time. He has won his last three rounds against rivals with a positive head-to-head against him. He looks like he is enjoying his tennis again and when that happens we know how dangerous he gets.
Sinner will look to assert his dominance with his powerful baseline game, while Alcaraz will try to disrupt his rhythm with his aggressive shot-making and variety. Whatever the result one thing is certain these two will keep entertaining us for years with their aggressive brand of tennis.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
