Carlos Alcaraz's World No. 2 spot under threat in Indian Wells SF blockbuster vs Jannik Sinner as Italian looks to steal it with a win
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are scheduled to lock horns in a chartbuster semifinal battle at the Indian Wells Masters 2024 on Saturday, March 16.
Alcaraz has too much to lose heading into the match as the defending champion and the World No. 2 He began the tournament with 8,805 points against his column in the official ATP rankings, last updated on March 4. On the other hand, his opponent Sinner entered the draw with 8,270 points as the World No. 3.
As the reigning champion, the Spaniard risked losing 1,000 points and ending with 7,805 points had he not taken the field at all. Sinner would have dropped 360 points and slipped to 7,910 points in the same scenario as he ended the Indian Wells Masters 2023 as a semifinalist.
Notably, the ATP overhauled the point distribution system and decided to award the semifinalists 400 points and finalists 650 points (600 previously) at the Masters 1000 events in 2024. Therefore, Alcaraz and Sinner have already secured 360 and 40 additional points by making it to the final four at Tennis Paradise this year.
Hence, if Alcaraz loses to Sinner on Saturday, he will slip to 8,205 points and Sinner will gain 290 points to take his account to 8,560 points, at the least, and claim the World No. 2 spot.
Sinner looks better poised to take the win on Saturday against Carlos Alcaraz as he remains unbeaten in all the 16 matches he has played since the turn of the year. Moreover, he holds the edge over the Spaniard with a slim lead of 4-3 in the head-to-head.
"It's gonna be the most difficult match that I'm gonna play this year" - Carlos Alcaraz ahead of Jannik Sinner clash
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in his quarterfinal match at the Indian Wells Masters 2024 and set up a meeting with Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
He sat in the press room following his win and answered a few questions about his strategy for the big semifinal. To begin with, he praised Sinner saying:
"I don't know how I'm gonna approach the game. 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."
He then suggested that facing Sinner is going to be his toughest task of the year.
"So it's going to be a really difficult match. It's going to be a big challenge for me. It's gonna be the most difficult match that I'm gonna play this year," Carlos Alcaraz added.
Whoever out of Alcaraz and Sinner wins, will take on either fourth seed Daniil Medvedev or 17th seed Tommy Paul in the Indian Wells final.