Jannik Sinner admitted that this is not the ending he wanted after losing to Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 3-6, 2-6 in the semi-final of the 2024 Indian Wells on Saturday.
Sinner has been on fire in the 2024 season as the Italian started it by winning the Australian Open. He suffered his first loss of the year against Alcaraz, which ended his 19-match unbeaten streak.
"It's definitely not the ending I wanted, but playing against him is always tough. I tried to play good tennis, which I did especially in the first set. Then I made a couple of errors and the momentum changed,” Sinner said after the match.
“He raised the level. It's hard to stomach, but in the next few days, I'll understand if I'll be physically fit for the Miami tournament. I'm really happy for Carlos because he's a great player and a good guy."
The Italian dominated the first set as Alcaraz could only win one game. But the tide turned in the second leg where the Spaniard bounced back and pushed his counterpart on the back foot.
Sinner committed multiple unforced serves and continued to make errors which ultimately cost him the match as the Spaniard utilised his mistakes to the fullest.
The Italian faced some discomfort in his elbow during the match after an unfortunate fall. He addressed the media saying he was feeling problems by the end of the third set.
"At the moment I feel everything on my body! But it's normal, it's part of the sport and you have to accept it. I had some problems, small problems, but everything was fine until the third set. When I fell, I felt something in my elbow because I fell on it. I had trouble serving after that,” Sinner said.
“He, obviously, made it more difficult because he puts a lot of pressure on you. He changed some things tactically and I will have to analyse them to improve and try to beat him again," the Italian explained.
Alcaraz will face Daniil Medvedev in the final of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.
