Jannik Sinner is hoping to be physically ready for the Miami Open after sparking injury fears during his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian was unbeaten in 2024 and came into their Indian Wells semi-final on a 19-match winning streak. But defending champion Alcaraz stormed back from a set down to win 1-6 6-3 6-2 after Sinner suffered a worrying fall and hurt his wrist.
Sinner suffered his first loss of the season on Saturday night as his magnificent run came to an end in Indian Wells. The world No. 3 started the year by winning his maiden Grand Slam title in Australia and followed it up with a title in Rotterdam. He looked on his way to his 20th successive win when he raced through the first set following a rain delay.
But Alcaraz managed to force a decider and earned the first break of the final set when Sinner fell while chasing down a ball. The 22-year-old put his hand down to cushion the fall but was seen grabbing and shaking his left wrist during the changeovers afterwards. Alcaraz went on to break again and advanced to the final.
Even he was concerned about his opponent, asking about Sinner’s wrist during the handshake. The Italian has since addressed the scare, with his biggest priority being the upcoming Miami Open. “Obviously tough one to swallow, but, you know, hopefully we will see in the next days if physically I will be good for Miami, which is for me personally the most important,” the world No. 3 said.
Aside from the injury fears, Sinner thought that Alcaraz was a deserving winner. He added: “And I’m really happy that, you know, for him because he’s a really great player, good guy. Yeah, that’s it.” The 12-time title winner also elaborated on the wrist issue as he admitted he had been feeling a few niggles.
“At the moment, I feel a little bit everything on my body. But it’s normal. It’s sport. You know, you have to accept this,” he explained. “I had some problems, just small problems, but it was okay throughout until the third set. Then when I fell, I felt a little bit the elbow because I fell over the elbow and I rolled over. So was for me after tough to serve.
“But he makes things very difficult to play obviously. He puts a lot of pressure on you. You know, he changed a couple of things today, like, tactically, which I have to watch out for the next time. I have to improve couple of things and trying to beat him again. I think that’s also the good and positive side of this sport.”
