Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, on Saturday, handed Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner his first defeat of 2024 to return to the Indian Wells ATP Masters final, beating the Italian 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Just three games were played before a three-hour rain delay in the California desert, but when they returned it was Alcaraz who found a way to turn to contest on its head and make it through to his sixth Masters 1000 final with a victory.

Alcaraz snapped Sinner’s 19-match winning streak and ended the Italian’s perfect 16-0 start to the 2024 season to take his place in Sunday’s final where he will play fourth seed Daniil Medvedev or home favourite Tommy Paul.

He said: “I stayed strong mentally. I think that’s a really important part in this game. You have to be strong mentally if you want to overcome this kind of matches, a set down against someone that’s playing an unbelievable game.

“I changed my style a little bit, I changed my game a little bit and I think it worked very well. I’m really happy to beat Jannik and be in the final again.

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“I had to run more… defend better than I did in the first set. I kept more balls in and stayed strong on the court. We played a lot of long rallies but I stopped missing the second, third, fourth balls.”

The victory ended Sinner’s 19-match winning streak, including a 16-0 start to the year, and insures Alcaraz will remain No. 2 in the world rankings next week.

It was the second straight year that Alcaraz stopped Sinner in the Indian Wells semi-finals.

Sinner had won both their meetings since and rode a 19-match winning streak into the contest. His 16-0 start to 2024 included his maiden Grand Slam title in Australia and a victory at Rotterdam last month.

In Sunday’s final, Alcaraz will face either fourth-seeded Medvedev or American Paul with a chance to become the first repeat Indian Wells ATP champion since Novak Djokovic won three straight titles from 2014-2016.

The Star