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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner treated the tennis world to an enthralling display of tennis yet again on Friday, in the semifinals of the 2023 Miami Open. The three-set clash, which lasted exactly three hours, concluded with Sinner winning 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2.
The match had its fair share of high-quality thrills. Of the many jaw-dropping rallies played by the young rivals, one from the first set stood out in particular.
During the seventh game of the set, Jannik Sinner served to extend his lead over Carlos Alcaraz after having broken early. At 4-2, 0-15, the duo engaged in an astounding 24-shot rally. They extracted the best out of each other, covering all corners of the court, stretching, falling, and scrambling to keep the ball in play.
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While the Italian was eventually unable to hold his serve, he did emerge as the winner of the hard-fought rally.
Several tennis players were stunned by the thrilling display, and took to social media to express their feelings about it.
“Guys are you from this planet????” Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka asked rhetorically.
“Alcaraz/Sinner matches are as much great theater as it is great tennis. Watching them work the crowd and come up with great shots in pressure moments is a joy to watch,” Miami Open quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks tweeted.
Others from the tennis world such as Bianca Andreescu, Jessica Pegula, Rennae Stubbs, John Isner, Alize Cornet and Brad Gilbert, as well as tournament director James Blake, also reacted to the thrilling point.
Jannik Sinner levels rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, sets up final against Daniil Medvedev at Miami Open 2023
The Miami Open semifinal success is Jannik Sinner’s third win over Carlos Alcaraz in their six-match rivalry, thus tying the head-to-head at 3-3. Moreover, with his latest hardcourt victory at the Miami Open, the Italian now has wins over Alcaraz on all three surfaces.
Sinner previously reigned supreme in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022 as well as a few weeks later in the claycourt final of the ATP 250 in Umag. Meanwhile, all of Alcaraz's triumphs over the 21-year-old have come on hard courts –the second round of the 2021 Paris Masters, the quarterfinal of the 2022 US Open, and recently in the semifinal of the 2023 Indian Wells.
The Miami Open semifinal match proved especially significant for Carlos Alcaraz, who was the defending champion. With his defeat, the Spaniard is set to cede the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic come Monday.
Despite the unfortunate result, however, Alcaraz was gracious in defeat. The teenager was seen pumping up his arch-rival Sinner for the upcoming final during their handshake at the net.
“Go for it. Go for it man! I’ll cheer for you,” the defending champion said.
In his bid to win the first Masters 1000 title of his career, 2021 Miami Open runner-up Jannik Sinner will take on former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. This will mark the duo’s sixth encounter, with the Russian leading 5-0 in the head-to-head.
Their most recent duel came in the ATP 500 final in Rotterdam, where Medvedev staged a comeback victory (5-7, 6-2, 6-2).
