Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that he was motivated to beat Jannik Sinner at the Indian Wells Open by his head-to-head record with the 22-year-old. The Spaniard had lost his previous two bouts to Sinner but cruised to victory to book his spot in the ATP Masters 1000 final.
Sinner led Alcaraz 2-1 in the opening set before their match was suspended for over three hours due to immense rainfall in Southern California. The Italian picked up where he left off when play resumed, taking the set 6-1 in emphatic style.
The outcome prompted a significant change in tactics from Alcaraz, who opted to come towards the net frequently and thus move Sinner forward and back. The Spaniard’s decision proved decisive as he landed the second set 6-3 and secured the match with a 6-2 success to set up a clash with Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Speaking after the match, Alcaraz revealed that he was motivated to beat Sinner by knowing it would level their head-to-head record to 4-4. He explained: “Well, every time that I’m gonna face Jannik I’m going to get nervous. That’s for sure.
“Because I know that I have to play him 100% if I want to beat him. But yeah, it doesn’t get me nervous, the fact that I am behind in head-to-head. It gives me extra motivation to give my 100% just to beat him in that head-to-head.
“You know, I try to play my best every match against him, to be able to catch him. I think I did it. We are equals right now, if I’m not wrong. So the next time that I’m going to face him, I’m not gonna think about I’m battling that.”
The 20-year-old was then asked about how he changed his approach mid-match to unsettle and ultimately beat Sinner, to which he explained: “I had to change a little bit my game, let’s say. It’s obvious that I changed the way of the return. I was more in the back. I’m putting every return in.
“I tried to give myself the opportunity to put more rallies, longer rallies, and I think I was able to feel a little bit better in the second set, just to play longer rallies. I felt really good physically, so I think that was a key to change the match a little bit.”
