Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in Full Demolition Mode Reaches round of 16: Indian Wells
Indian Wells, March 11, 2024 – Reigning Grand Slam titans, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, showcased their unyielding dominance at the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters, effortlessly securing their spots in the Round of 16.
Jannik Sinner defeated Jan-Lennard Struff with brutality, winning his 17th straight bout.
The ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters’ reigning Grand Slam champions Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the fourth round on Sunday with impressive performances. With lightning-fast victories, the two most talented young racquets in the sport displayed no compassion, with Australian Open champion Sinner defeating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4.
“Almost perfect” Alcaraz, the current Wimbledon champion, defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-2, 6-3 to strengthen his 2023 title defense.
After giving his Canadian opponent no space to maneuver, the world number two Spaniard advanced to the fourth round of the tournament and won his eighth straight match. Auger-Aliassime’s serve was broken four times by Alcaraz, who stated, “It was almost the perfect match.” “I moved well, played aggressive and had less mistakes.”
Struff was victorious in his 17th consecutive match since his country’s Davis Cup victory in November, thanks to Sinner’s merciless attack. It took the two young guns a mere hour and a quarter to declare their wins.
Sinner defeated Struff with 27 straight wins, making the third seed on the court a target because to his style. “We prepared very well, I tried to learn his moves,” Sinner stated. “Under pressure, I played well and served effectively.
“Overall I can be really happy about today, I felt really good on the court.”
Alcaraz defeated Auger-Aliassime in the 2023 quarterfinals by winning the final five games of the first set and breaking early in the second. On his first match point, the second seed sealed the win when Auger-Aliassime made his 23rd unintentional mistake and found the net.
Alcaraz, who hasn’t won a championship since completing his second Grand Slam with an incredible victory over Novak Djokovic at the All England Club last year, put on a much-needed display of strength.
He lost in the semifinals of the Buenos Aires Open last month after losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, then he sprained his ankle and withdrew from his opening match in Rio de Janeiro.
“I played at a really high level of tennis, so much higher than the first round,” remarked the Spaniard. “Hopefully (I’ll) keep climbing (raising) my level.” Alcaraz has missed 2024 matches due to an ankle injury, and it’s possible that he’s still suffering the affects.
“My confidence has gone down a little bit, I’ve been struggling during the practice every day,” he said. “I’m trying to keep my confidence as high as I can.”
Alex de Minaur, an Australian ranked tenth, defeated Alexander Bublik, the Dubai finalist, 7-5, 6-0 in earlier matches. Greek 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Frances Tiafoe, who advanced to the Californian quarterfinals the previous year, 6-3, 6-3, eliminating a favorite among the home audience.
“I had a good start, so I’m happy with this victory,” the former player ranked in the top ten stated. “I maintained that throughout the match.”He was going to fight back eventually, of course, and give me a tougher task in the second set, but I held my ground.
“I held serve, and I gave my all to the task at hand.”
SWIATEK TOOK REVENGE
Iga Swiatek advanced to the fourth round of the WTA competition by crushing Czech Linda Noskova 6-4, 6-0, exacting swift retribution for a defeat she suffered in January. The 29th-ranked opponent shocked the top-seeded Polish player in the third round of the Australian Open.
After falling behind the 19-year-old early in the match, world No. 1 Swiatek rallied fast on Sunday, leveling the score at 4-all and winning the rest of the third-round match.
Next up for Swiatek is Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, who defeated Madison Keys 6-4, 6-1. The Pole claimed to have gained insight from her Melbourne loss against Noskova.
“It was much smarter to think about how to just play against Linda rather than focusing on my mistakes,” she stated. “I was motivated to just play better and not make the same mistakes but to improve my game in some aspects.”
Despite winning the last ten games of the match, Swiatek declared that she would not rely on such exceptional performance. Since I was still quite concentrated, I wouldn’t say that I felt like I was in a roll. I am aware that players can quickly regain the upper hand.
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