Jannik Sinner came back from one set down to beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 in an epic semifinal reaching the final at the Miami Open for the second time in his career.
Sinner avenged his recent defeat against Alcaraz, who won their previous head-to-head match in Indian Wells two weeks ago.
Alcaraz was aiming to become the first player to win the Sunshine Double since Roger Federer in 2017.
Sinner’s win ends Alcaraz’s reign as world number 1. Novak Djokovic will return to the top of the ATP Ranking, as Alcaraz was defending the points he won from last year’s title at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Despite his defeat against Sinner Alcaraz is looking forward to his future rivalry against with his Italian rivalry. Alcaraz, Sinner and Holger Rune are set to follow in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and could become the next Big 3 in the years to come.
Sinner draws level to 3-3 in his head-to-head matches against Alcaraz. Sinner beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon and in the Umag final. Alcaraz won an epic five-set quarter final showdown at the US Open last September before winning his first Grand Slam last September.
“I had my opportunities to break in the second set and serving for the match, but really against Sinner is always a tough battle. It’s tough to put into words but I think it was a great match for both of us. I don’t think about that I lost the world number 1, I lost the Sunshine Double. Of course, it’s a shame, but I think I am going to have more years to try to get it”, said Alcaraz in the post-match interview.
After his match against Sinner Alcaraz had a smile on his face after the match and took the positives from the defeat. He praised the crowd for the incredible atmosphere and the energy he received from spectators during his match against Sinner.
“I feel something different about the crowd when I play against Sinner. I think around the world is probably all the people watching this match because I think it’s beautiful to watch. It was an incredible crowd. I felt the energy, the love from the people when I was down. So for me it’s unbelievable this kind of feeling, this kind of support. After 15, 20 minutes I start thinking about positive things, about the match, the season, the tournament, and talking with my team, my family. After that I start to have good things on my mind, I come to the press conference smiling”, said Alcaraz.
Sinner earned an early break in the fourth game of the first set to take a 4-2 lead. The Italian player won a 25-shot rally with a crosscourt passing backhand. Alcaraz fought back with two breaks of serve in the seventh and eleventh games to earn a chance to serve for the set, but Sinner converted his fourth break-back to draw level to 6-6 forcing the first set to the tie-break. Sinner opened up a 4-2 lead, but Alcaraz reeled off five consecutive points to win the tie-break 7-4 at the end of an epic first set.
Sinner started the second set with an early break in the first set with a heavy drive to open up a 2-0 lead. Alcaraz pulled back on serve to draw level to 2-2 and held serve for 3-2. The Spaniard went up a 4-3 lead and earned two break points, but Sinner fended them off to hold on his serve for 4-4 and broke again to go up 5-4 in the ninth game and held serve to take the second set 6-4 when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide. Sinner ended Alcaraz’s streak of 21 winning sets.
Sinner started the third set with an early break in the first game with a backhand and held on his serve with an ace to open up a 2-0 lead. Alcaraz suffered cramps on his leg, but he tried to produce a come-back and earned a break point in the sixth game, but Sinner broke serve for second time in the seventh game at deuce to earn a chance to serve for the match. Sinner earned two match points with his eighth ace and closed out the win on his first opportunity with a forehand strike after 3 hours and 1 minute.
“It means a lot. We both played a very high level of tennis again. I just tried my best. In the third set I saw him struggle a little bit for a couple of games, so I tried to push there. We both tried to play very aggressive tennis and today it went my way, so I am very happy”, said Sinner.
Sinner set up a final showdown against Danil Medvedev, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 in the all-Russian semifinal.Sinner finished runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz in his first final of the Miami Open in 2021. His next rival Danil Medvedev leads 5-0 in his head-to-head matches against Sinner and beat his younger Italian rival in the Rotterdam final last February.
