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Jannik Sinner recently spoke on facing Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells as well as their off-court friendship.
Sinner defeated Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes to secure his place in the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open. This win was his 36th win out of 38 matches and also improved his season record to 16-0.
Sinner will go up against Carlos Alcaraz at the Indian Wells semifinals, who earned his spot in the last four by defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. During the post-match press conference, Sinner expressed his excitement for the upcoming match against Alcaraz, stating that it is "always fun" to play against the Spaniard. He also mentioned their strong friendship off the court.
"Carlos, it's always fun to play with him (smiling). We are good friends off the court. On the court, we just try to give 100%, no? I think we have a good attitude on court," Sinner said.
The World No. 3 also revealed that he is looking forward to "every challenge" that the former World No. 1 will bring to the court.
"Usually the matches are good. Last year against him, especially here on this court, I struggled a lot. He played much better than me, which then two weeks after I played Miami against him where I won, so, you know, let's see. Yeah, I'm looking forward for every challenge," he added.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have faced each other seven times on the ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have met seven times on the ATP Tour, with the Italian emerging victorious four times and the Spaniard winning three times.
Their rivalry began at the 2021 Paris Masters, where Alcaraz triumphed over Sinner in a closely contested match, with a score of 7-6(1), 7-5.
They clashed three times in 2022, starting at the Wimbledon Championships where Sinner defeated Alcaraz in a thrilling four-set match (6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3.) The Italian then went on to defeat the Spaniard at the Croatia Open, winning the final 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 to claim the title. At the US Open, Sinner suffered a heartbreaking loss 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals to the World No. 2 who went on to win the tournament.
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals of Indian Wells. However, Sinner got his revenge at the Miami Open semifinals, defeating the Spaniard 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2.
Their most recent encounter took place at the China Open, where eventual champion Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals 7-6(4), 6-1.
