Italian Tennis Player Removes Carlos Alcaraz's Dream Of Winning Sunshine Double

World number one, Carlos Alcaraz. (Photo: Twitter/@carlosalcaraz)

JAKARTA - The dream of the world number one tennis player, Carlos Alcaraz, to win the Sunshine Double title has been dashed. He surprisingly lost to Italian Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Miami Open 2023.

The Spaniard gave up with a score of 7-6 (7-4), 4-6 and-2-6 on Friday, March 31, local time or Saturday, April 1, western Indonesia time.

Alcaraz's disappointment was filled with frustration after he struggled with his leg cramps. The intense set was finally won by the 19-year-old Spaniard after the tie-break, but Sinner managed to bounce back in the second set.

Sinner broke service in the first game and although Alcaraz hit back to equalize 2-2, the 21-year-old Italian felt the moment had arrived and showed confidence in his powerful groundstroke.

Alcaraz moved hard, and his serve was broken in the determination set. Sinner was finally able to win within three hours.

Alcaraz said the problem arose during a break in the bathroom after the second set.

"I went to the bathroom for five minutes and yes, everything went down. I stopped myself. I started to cramp a little bit. After a very difficult match, well, it was difficult to stop the game for five minutes," Alcaraz said, as directed from AFP via Antara, Saturday, April 1.

"I started cramping at the start of the third set, but that's not the reason I lost. I got up... I started to feel better but of course Jannik, he was better than me in the third set. That's the truth," he continued.

Sinner lost to Alcaraz in two straight sets at their meeting at the same round at Indian Wells. He said he could feel how high the quality of their meeting at Hard Rock Stadium was.

"When both players play tennis like this, it's great to play, you can feel it with the audience. There's great energy with everything. It's great to be part of a game like this," said Sinner.

Sinner also said that he had cramps during the second set but recovered quickly.

"I know that I have to go ahead and wait for the right moment. I feel ready to compete and I am happy to be in the final," he added.

Sinner will meet Russian player Daniil Medvedev in the final. While Alcaraz will lose the number one ranking from Novak Djokovic.