Alcaraz meets Sinner in the semifinals of the Miami Masters 1000 and loses the No. 1 seed

Spanish Carlos Alcaraz he fell 6-7(4), 6-4 and 6-2 in the game Semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Miami against the Italians Jannik the Sinnerwho will play in the final against the Russian Daniil Medvedev, and lost the first place in the world rankings to the Serb. Novak Djokovic. On Sunday, Sinner will fight against Medvedev for the first Masters 1000 of his career, after defeating Alcaraz, the current champion, in an unforgettable match that lasted three hours and one minute.

It was a duel of a very high level, with the advantage of the Italians and the return of the Spaniards. A clash between two friends, with the greatest respect between them and huge demand.

This is Carlos Alcaraz’s second defeat this season, reminds Efe, adding the one in the Rio final. It was the sixth duel between the two, each ending with three wins. The Murcian had to confirm the title in order to keep the number one, which will once again be owned by Novak Djokovic from Monday.

With a service winner and an unforced error from Alcaraz, Sinner sealed his first serve in five minutes of maximum demand for both men. Murcian also equalized his own, and already the beginning of the match gave us a hint that the night at the Hard Rock Stadium will be long.

In the sequel, Sinner excelled, responding to absolutely everything, and it was reflected in the fourth game when he had two break balls. Alcaraz saved the first, but not the second, and the Murcian faced its first major difficulty of the entire tournament.

The game forced Alcaraz to change the script in the strategy of the game, but he failed to bring back the good feelings, in just 23 minutes the semi-final was very uphill with 4-1 for the Italian and required a reaction.

With Sinner on serve, a picture remained for history, a rally to 25 shots that the Italian won. This was followed by a double fault from the Italian who gave two break points to Alcaraz. He entered the second, with the ball in the net, when he returned the break, and the first set was tied again at 4-3.

Alcaraz knew how to change the scenario of the game, that capacity that only the best have, and Murcian changed heights, speeds, achieved about forty ties on the scoreboard and led a psychological battle. Sinner was left without an answer.

Alcaraz broke again and turned the set, but Sinner caused a tie-break in an exciting twelfth game, with as many as four break points for him, and several set points for the Spaniard, in a battle lasting more than nine minutes.

Alcaraz repeated the same thing in the tiebreak as he did in the set, falling on the scoreboard and turning the first set 7-4 in one hour and 17 minutes. The last point was scored with an ace that brought the stadium to its feet.

Sinner knew how to turn the page quickly, he started the second set by breaking his opponent’s serve and securing his own serve. A quick 2-0 in his favor, showing that he is very solid to the others as well.

Partial three games in a row followed, which Alcaraz returned to make it 3-2. Spectacle and equality were maximum. But Sinner’s feelings were better.

Physical problems appeared in the center of Miami, Sinner touched him with his left foot, and Alcaraz asked for help with his arm during the break. This did not prevent the continuity of the match. The Italian was relentless in the second set at 6-4, reminding us of his brilliant performance against Alcaraz at Wimbledon in July 2022.

Alcaraz veered off the track for ten minutes, and the wait did not leave Sinner cold. The Italian opened the last and definitive set by breaking Murciano, who left several balls in the net and did not perform well physically.

Taking his serve in the third game despite cramping, Sinner’s two days of rest compared to Alcaraz’s less than 24 hours of recovery took a toll on Murcian’s legs.

Shooting from the heart and hitting from the bottom, he was able to continue to pass Alcaraz on his serve. He even forced all forty in the sixth, but that game fell to the Italian side 4-2.

Two double faults by Alcaraz with a draw of forty deprived him of a re-election, and 5-2 Grešnik left the game almost decided in his favor. He ended it in the next game with a serve and sealed the final 6-2.

Alcaraz: “I still have many years to reach the ‘Sunshine Double'”

After the defeat in the semi-finals, Carlos Alcaraz assured that it is a “pity” to lose the opportunity to reach the ‘Sunshine Double’, the Indian Wells-Miami double, but he believes that he still has “many years” left before that achievement.

“I lost the semi-final, I don’t notice that I lost number one or that I lost the ‘Sunshine Double.’ I don’t think about it. It’s obviously a shame, I had a chance to do it, but I think I still have many years to reach it, said Alcaraz, who handed over the scepter in Miami after the champion in Indian Wells. “Now I’m just thinking about improving my level to beat Jannik,” he added.

Murcian lost his second match of the year after a three-hour battle against Sinner, who will play Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final. “After the matches, I can’t talk to anyone for fifteen to 25 minutes. (This time) I was alone, I complained a lot,” he said, as reported by Efe. “But after twenty or 25 minutes I recover, I start thinking about the positive, about the season, about the tournament, I talk to my team, to my family , I start to think more positively,” he continued.

Alcaraz solved the cramp problem and admitted that he started to feel pain from the third set.

At the beginning of the third set, I started having cramps, but that was not the reason I lost, he said.