Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the leaders of the new generation of tennis, took another step towards their expected collision in the Indian Wells Masters 1000, where Novak Djokovic He left the path clear for them with his early elimination.
The Spanish Alcaraz, reigning champion, advanced to the quarterfinals, gaining revenge against the Hungarian Fábián Marozsán while Sinner dispatched local promise Ben Shelton.
In the Californian desert contest, first Masters 1000 of the year, the shocking exit of Novak Djokovic Monday night before the Italian Luca Nardi, number 123 of the ATP.
Last year, Alcaraz had experienced a similar failure precisely before Marozsan which, when he was then ranked 135th in the ranking, took the Spaniard out of the way in the Rome Masters 1000.
With this background in mind, Alcaraz exhibited tennis with hardly any cracks to defeat Marozsán by double 6-3 in 77 minutes of play.
“I was nervous before the game, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz admitted. “Last year I didn’t know much about Fábián. I had only seen some of his best plays. Today I knew his game better and I knew what I had to do from the beginning to the last ball. And, of course, I played better than in Rome” , stood out.
At 20 years old, Alcaraz reached 50 games won in tournaments Masters 1000, the second largest category below the Grand Slams, of which he has won four titles.
Only his compatriot Rafael Nadal won more matches Masters 1000 that Alcaraz before turning 21, with 82 victories, while Djokovic was below with 48.
In their third straight quarterfinal in Indian Wells, Alcaraz will face a well-known rival, Alexander Zverev.
The German dominates the face to face with the Spaniard (5-3) and shows off a last and sensitive victory in January in the quarterfinals.he Australian Open, first Grand Slam of the year.
Against Zverev “obviously we are going to try to improve the things I did wrong in Australia, play at our level and not dominate the game,” Alcaraz said.
Zverev, sixth ranked, showed character to recover from a first set down to defeat the Australian Alex De Minaur (tenth) 5-7, 6-2 and 6-3.
In its turn, Sinner extended his immaculate start to the course with a solid victory against Ben Shelton 7-6 (7/4) and 6-1.
The Italian figure, who won his long-awaited first Grand Slam in Australia in January, remains undefeated after 15 matches in 2024.
“I never take anything for granted. Every tournament, every match I try to do better, to stay mentally focused. Every day it’s a different opponent,” Sinner said of his streak.
His next rival will be the Czech Jiri Lehecka (32nd in ATP), who will play his first Masters 1000 quarterfinals after beating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Should you overcome your crosses tomorrow, Sinner and Alcaraz will repeat last year’s semifinal from which the Spaniard emerged victorious.
In it WTA 1000, Danish Caroline Wozniacki beat German Angelique Kerber in a duel between two former number ones who are back after motherhood.
Wozniacki, who returned at the end of last year after giving birth to two children, said by 6-4 and 6-2 of her friend Kerber.
The 36-year-old German rejoined the circuit in January after becoming a mother in February 2023.
At 33 years old, Wozniacki She is the second lowest-ranked player (204th in WTA) to reach the quarterfinals. Indian Wells, only behind Venus Williams (211th) in 1997.
“It will be my first quarterfinal since my maternity break of three and a half years. Playing again is a special feeling,” said the Dane.
Her rival will be the current head of the circuit, Iga Swiatek, who swept the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-1 and 6-2
The Russian Anastasia Potapova, who defeated the Italian Jasmine Paolini in three sets 7-5, 0-6, 6-3, and the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who did it in two 6-4, 6-1 against the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, will also meet in the quarterfinals.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
