Jannik Sinner: A statistic as a stumbling block
Jannik Sinner again played a good tournament in Indian Wells, but in the end clearly failed due to the outstanding Carlos Alcaraz . A defeat that fits the picture.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 21, 2023, 09:15 am
Who knows, if Jannik Sinner had made a few decisions differently at the end of the first set, South Tyrolean Carlos Alcaraz could have been dangerous. The 21-year-old was actually the better player in section one, but a missed set point and a hard-fought tie-break later went to his 19-year-old opponent. Who took this momentum with him perfectly and made everything clear with an early break in section two.
For Jannik Sinner, the dream of winning the first title at an ATP Masters 1000 event ended abruptly again. Especially since the South Tyrolean showed quite strong performances on the way to the semi-finals - for example with the victories over Stan Wawrinka and defending champion Taylor Fritz. As it is, the Italian travels to Miami with a big chest because of the good performance, but with a damper. Where the next attempt at the premiere title in this category is due in just a few days.
Sinner with a poor record
But back to the results in Indian Wells. It's a well-known truism that exceptions prove the rule. In the case of Jannik Sinner and the most recent appearances in Indian Wells, this is definitely the case: With the victory over Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, Sinner has achieved something that is still rare in the youngster's career: a victory over a top 5 actor. Because the success against Fritz was only their third.
Where we are now with a significant flaw in Jannik Sinner's otherwise already so successful career: the matches against the best in the sport. Because there the record reads quite poorly: 17 defeats are compared to only three victories. The youngest of them against Carlos Alcaraz. Because defeats against top 5 players are the rule at Sinner - and victories like against Taylor Fritz (still) the exception.