By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday March 16, 2024
Indian Wells – Jannik Sinner was cruising alongside throughout Saturday’s BNP Paribas Open semifinal with Carlos Alcaraz, seemingly headed for a twentieth consecutive win, however he misplaced the plot early within the second set and by no means recovered because the Spaniard took over the match by producing a shocking array of variation to win in three units, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
After the match Sinner got here to press to speak in regards to the match, and defined that he felt he didn’t do sufficient to maintain Alcaraz off stability in units two and three.
“What I’ve missed at this time was that I used to be too predictable at some factors,” Sinner mentioned. “I used to be doing the identical issues again and again, which in my thoughts let me down.”
Sinner, driving a 19-match profitable streak into the match, admitted he was thrown off by adjustments that Alcaraz made tactically. The Spaniard modified his return place, transferring again within the court docket, and began to play extra drop pictures and rush to the online. He dictated ways and didn’t permit Sinner room to breathe, and steadily took over the match.
“I used to be taking part in actually good within the first set,” Sinner mentioned. “Then after, whenever you see your opponent struggling just a little bit, I attempted to remain stable as a substitute of attempting to maneuver round. So I used to be too predictable at some factors.
“I believe that is the lesson for at this time. We’ll work on sure issues, you understand, and hopefully I’ll get higher.”
Sinner says that he acquired the identical enter from his coach Darren Cahill when he talked to him after the match.
“What I mentioned he agreed, no? That I used to be just a little bit too predictable,” he mentioned.
After dropping to 4-4 lifetime in opposition to Alcaraz, and shedding from a arrange in opposition to him for the primary time, Sinner vowed to enhance the subsequent time he faces the Spaniard.
“In the present day typically I made the errors,” he mentioned. “Now we have to grasp why, and that is it. I believe it was nonetheless a fantastic match.”