The exciting Indian Wells SEMIFINAL between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner resumed after a three-hour rain delay on Saturday with world number two on the line along with a place in the final.
Australian Open champion Sinner was 2-1 up in the opening set when he and defending champion Alcaraz went to the dressing room as light rain made the Stadium Court too slippery to play on.
They returned soon after and warmed up, but the desert rain returned, as it did on Friday when two rain delays totaling more than two hours interrupted Maria Sakkari’s semifinal win over Coco Gauff in a WTA event.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in straight sets in the Indian Wells semifinals last year en route to a title that returned him to world number one.
He is trying to become the first repeat ATP Indian Wells champion since Novak Djokovic won three consecutive titles from 2014-2016.
But the Sinners have won both of their meetings since then and are riding a winning trend 19 games into the match.
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His perfect 16-0 record in 2024 includes his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and a title in Rotterdam last month.
“He is the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt,” the 20-year-old Alcaraz said of his 22-year-old rival. “He played amazing. No defeats this year.
“So, it will be a very difficult match. It will be a big challenge for me to see how high my level is against it.”
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Sinner, the first Italian to reach third in the world rankings, could push Alcaraz out of second place with a win.
Alcaraz, chasing her first title since Wimbledon last July, has not dropped out of the top two since her 2022 US Open win saw her jump to number one for the first time.
The winner of the match will face fourth-placed Daniil Medvedev of Russia or American Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.
Alcaraz beat Medvedev in last year’s Indian Wells final while Sinner came back from two sets down to beat him in the Australian Open final in January. (AFP/Z-3)
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