And now Sinner can really believe it. His main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, unexpectedly lost in two sets in the quarterfinals of the ATP in Miami against Grigor Dimitrov and our Jannik, waiting to play the semifinal of the tournament against Daniil Medvedev, has a gigantic opportunity ahead of him. Not only did the blue avoid the possibility of meeting the most dangerous of his opponents in the final, the Spaniard who was strangely imprecise and fluctuating yesterday, but Carlos’ fall gives him the chance to try again the assault on number 2 now occupied by friend-enemy: if he were to win this tournament, for Sinner, now 3 in the world, the mathematical failed overtaking in Indian Wells would come. He will still have to see the task through to the end here in Florida – and he still has a boulder like the Russian ahead of him – but he still has to thank Grigor’s pure talent in one of the best versions of recent years. The Bulgarian literally punched his rival 12 years his junior for large stretches, while Mike Tyson himself was watching in the audience. On the contrary, Carlos’ side showed a physical and nervous decline: he only returned to the match in the second half of the second set, when perhaps it was too late.
the match
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In a first set in which the Bulgarian number 12 plays at the height of a top right from the start, risking every time he has the chance and never backing down in the face of the Spaniard’s power, the initial break achieved is already decisive in the second game. Carlos takes his time, struggles to fuel up and shows a little too much haste in his execution, but perhaps he is just surprised by the aggressiveness of Grigor who really shows his tennis in its purity, between delicious stop volleys and one-handed backhands rare beauty. Leading 5-2, Dimitrov then breaks Carlos’ serve again and wins the set in a clear, surprising but definitely deserved manner. In the second set Alcaraz begins to talk excitedly with his corner: “I can’t play like this…”, he tells the coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the man who always puts him back on track in moments of difficulty. The last one, for example, for the comeback in the Indian Wells semi-final against Sinner. But the pressure on the Murcian’s shoulders begins to become strong and the desire to shorten the exchange sometimes leads him to exaggerate and give away too much, as in the fourth game: a double fault and a wrong short ball from the Murcian and then a forehand in response from the Bulgarian’s science fiction leads to the new break. At 4-1 Grigor would also have the chance to increase the gap, but one step away from heaven he wastes a break point on the Spaniard’s serve and at that point everything seems to change. In the following game Alcaraz becomes a phenomenon again and rebels against the defeat, placing the winners who were never on the pitch before: counterbreak served and the match restarted by the skin of its teeth until 4-4. Having regained the advantage, Dimitrov however suffered two match points on Carlos’ serve: on the first shot the Bulgarian hit the mark, and signed the feat of the tournament.