carlos alcaraz Spaniard on the verge of regaining world number one after defeat Jannik Sinner To book a place in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Seeded Alcaraz dwarfed Sinner 7-6 (4) 6-3 in an exciting match reminiscent of their epic match at last year’s US Open.
An early break allowed Alcaraz to gain a 4-2 advantage, but Sinner shook up three games in a row on their way to a 6-5 lead.
The Italian had the opportunity to take the first set, but Alcaraz managed to evade the set point and forced the tie break.
This effort marked a change of momentum for Alcaraz, who broke the tie and went to victory in the second set, finishing the game in one hour and 52 minutes.
Alcaraz to face Russia Danil Medvedev in the final, after world number six beat Frances Tiafoe in a previously tough back and forth relationship.
American Tiafoe saved seven game points in the first semi-final with a lively finish, but ended up losing 7-5 7-6 (4) while Medvedev won 19 consecutive wins.
A win against Medvedev would push Alcaraz back to world number one after his injury put an early end to his previous peak reign.
Meanwhile the UK Neal Skupski and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof were slightly behind in the doubles final, losing to Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden 6-3 2-6 10-8.