"It's a shame" - Jannik Sinner rues missed chances against Carlos Alcaraz during US Open and Indian Wells losses
Jannik Sinner has bemoaned the spate of missed chances in his Indian Wells semifinals loss to top seed Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday (March 18).
In a competitive clash between two of the game's young guns, Sinner squandered a set point as Alcaraz drew first blood by taking the opener on a tiebreak. The much-expected comeback that Sinner himself expected - unlike in the pair's 2022 US Open quarterfinal clash - didn't materialize, though.
The Italian ran out of steam, winning only three games in the second set, as Alcaraz moved to within one win of his second title of the year and a return to World No. 1 with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.
As quoted by oktennis.it, Sinner reflected on his missed opportunities afterwards, insisting that he made the right choices even though he ended up losing those key points.
"Those choices I made I think were right. At 5-4 I had to follow him to the net, if he passes, then he's good. But I had lost the point on the net at 3-3, and I had attacked him on my backhand … also in the second one, 0-30, I had responded well on a fairly fast first, then I took the tape and the ball went out."
The Italian continued, lamenting similar missed chances back in Flushing Meadows last year as well:
"There were a few chances today that I didn't get to take. It's a shame, because I also remember at the US Open I had set points, he had them, then I had the match point. ... even today it was a bit like this, if I had made the right choice when he played the bucket (on his set point, ed) the set ends there, in the first, but then everything went pretty fast from there."
Sinner added that he could have served better, which he felt hindered his victory chances at the end of the day.
"Tennis is like that. Too bad, surely the difference was with the service, I was not able to serve in the right way, the percentages were low. It's difficult to win a match like this," Jannik Sinner said.
Alcaraz will take on Daniil Medvedev on Sunday (March 19) for the year's first Masters 1000 title.
"I have to improve in terms of movement on the court" - Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner knows he's on the right path but admits that he has to improve a few facets of his game, especially his movement on the court. He said, after losing in the Indian Wells semifinals:
“I am optimistic, I know that I am so close and that I have a lot to improve in terms of movement on the court. Sometimes with a little bit more strength I can move even better, faster, so I'm optimistic in that direction."
Jannik Sinner, who dumped out defending champion Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals, continued:
"I beat a top 5, I played on a par with Carlos today, it was just a few points that made the difference."
The Italian is now 16-4 in 2023 and will next ply his trade at the Miami Open, where he made the quarterfinals last year.