Carlos Alcaraz was triumphant over Jannik Sinner last night, setting up a mouth-watering repeat of last year’s Indian Wells final.
With Daniil Medvedev standing in between him and the retention of his California crown, it promises to be an enthralling occasion for all involved.
However, that match has been somewhat overshadowed by the stunning semi-final we have just enjoyed, seeing two of tennis’ brightest young titans come together to put on a show in the desert.
In the end, the Spaniard came out on top, levelling up his head-to-head record with Sinner at 4-4.
Laura Robson praises key Carlos Alcaraz change
Laura Robson, who is ever-present when speaking about the great matches we have been treated to this year already, was unsurprisingly one of the first to outline the key thing that made the difference.
Despite enduring a bruising first set, in which Sinner rushed into a 6-1 lead, the former world number 27 was left impressed by what Alcaraz then did to combat the onslaught he was facing.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the pundit would note: ‘It was the way that he changed the match as it went on because it was on Sinner’s racket for the first set and a half and then all of a sudden you felt that Alcaraz started to slow things down.
‘The forehand changed completely at the height he was getting over the net. Especially on returns. He was slowing the pace down, waiting for his moments and then when he could accelerate he was all over it.’
A tennis rivalry for the ages
It finally feels like we have a worthy understudy to the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry with this pair.
After all, whilst the two remain close friends off the court, on it they give everything to beat one another. This was a trend that followed the aforementioned legendary pair throughout their illustrious careers, both of which were laden with elite honours.
The early forecast suggests Alcaraz and Sinner could enjoy similarly meteoric rises, with the former having even suggested even Novak Djokovic has not been on the level of the 22-year-old this year.
After all, the two have been drawn against each other eight times now, facing off in some of the biggest stages of the toughest competitions.
And yet they remain unphased, with the Italian having seen his 16-match win streak in 2024 cut short by the man many had suggested he was starting to eclipse.
Just when you count one of them out, they are almost certain to spring back up into relevance. That’s what the best players do.
This promises to be a tennis rivalry for the ages, and one we sorely needed as the big three’s influence slowly wanes.
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