"Carlos Alcaraz makes things very difficult, he puts a lot of pressure on you" - Jannik Sinner says Spaniard 'deserved to win' Indian Wells SF clash
Jannik Sinner declared Carlos Alcaraz deserving winner of their semifinal duel at the Indian Wells Masters 2024 on Saturday, March 16.
Alcaraz produced a comeback special against Sinner in a rain-affected encounter at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to book his berth in the final for the second successive year.
The Spaniard threatened Sinner's serve six times during the match and succeeded thrice. Moreover, he fared better in terms of winning points on the first serve by maintaining a 70% conversion rate against Sinner's 65%, to win the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a little over two hours.
The winner's effort earned him praise from the Italian after the match.
"He [Carlos Alcaraz] makes things very difficult to play obviously, he puts a lot of pressure on you," Jannik Sinner said in his post-match press conference on Saturday.
With the loss, Sinner lost the 4-3 advantage in his head-to-head account against the 20-year-old. He, however, vowed to improve his game to prevail over Alcaraz the next time they square off.
"I have to improve couple of things and trying to beat him again. I think that's also the good and positive side of this sport. Today, I made the mistakes," Sinner added.
The Italian later extended the defending champion his best wishes for the final against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday (March 17). He said:
"I mean, I think it was still a great match. I think we both played really good. There were some entertaining rallies. I mean, he deserved today to win, and I wish him good luck in the final."
"Carlos Alcaraz is moving really, really fast, he can play with a lot of spin" - Jannik Sinner
In the same press conference at the Indian Wells Masters 2024, Jannik Sinner highlighted Carlos Alcaraz's agility and ability to use spin on the ball to his advantage.
"He [Carlos Alcaraz] is moving really, really fast especially on this court where the ball bounces really high, it's not easy to play against him, because he can play with a lot of spin," Sinner said.
Furthermore, Sinner noted that he failed to produce any elements of surprise against his rival that led to his doom.
"But what I have missed today that I was too predictable at some points. I was doing the same things over and over again, which in my mind let me down. You know, like I was playing really good the first set," the World No. 3 added.
Alcaraz will now look to defend his title against Daniil Medvedev in a replay of the final at Indian Wells last year, where he won in straight sets.