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Carlos Alcaraz will be rooting for Jannik Sinner when the Italian takes on Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 Miami Open title clash on Sunday, April 2.
Tenth seed Sinner ended Alcaraz's dream of becoming the youngest player to win the Sunshine Double on Friday, March 31. He beat the Spaniard 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the second leg. The three-hour-long match in the flourishing rivalry lived up to the hype, with the two youngsters producing unreal points and pushing each other to their absolute limits.
Having won a couple of titles already, 19-year-old Alcaraz lost only the second of his 20 matches this season. Earlier this month, he downed Daniil Medvedev to clinch his third Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Alcaraz showed graciousness in the defeat as Sinner beat him to level their head-to-head 3-3. While the two players embraced each other at the net after the match, the 2022 US Open champion said that he would be supporting 21-year-old Sinner when he faces Medvedev for the title.
"Go for it man, I'll cheer for you," Alcaraz said.
"Thank you," Sinner replied.
In his on-court interview, Sinner expressed his satisfaction at the level of tennis that the two players displayed and said that he was happy to finish as the winner.
"It means a lot. We both played a very, very high level of tennis again," Sinner said. "I just tried my best. In the third set, I saw him struggle [cramps in the left leg] a little bit for a couple of games so I tried to push there. We both tried to play very aggressive tennis and today it went my way so I'm very happy."
This will be Sinner's second Masters 1000 final. He previously lost to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz at the 2021 Miami Open.
The Italian has squared off against Medvedev five times on the tour so far, with the latter winning on all five occasions.
Carlos Alcaraz takes around 20 minutes to get over a loss
Carlos Alcaraz is currently one of the best players on the tour and he seldom loses a match. After his 2023 Miami Open semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner, the Spaniard was asked about his way of dealing with defeats.
The youngster remarked that he would sulk for about 20-25 minutes before moving on.
"After the match, like the 15-25 minutes, I can't talk to anyone. I was on my... complaining a lot, everything is like shit for me," Carlos Alcaraz said. "But after 20-25 minutes, I recall myself, I start thinking about positive things about the match, about the season, about the tournament, and talking with my team, my family."
On Monday, April 3, Alcaraz will relinquish his No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, who will begin his 381st week as the top-ranked player.
