Jannik Sinner scores more milestones as he edges closer to Carlos Alcaraz showdown for No 2 ranking
Jannik Sinner stayed perfect in 2024 as he followed Carlos Alcaraz into the quarter-final of the Indian Wells Open with the pair now just one match away from a tasty winner-takes-all face-off for the world No 2 ranking.
Hours after Alcaraz booked his place in the last eight with a comfortable win over Fabian Marozsan, Sinner got the job done against American youngster Ben Shelton as he came away with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victory.
As per usual with Sinner these days, there were some milestones as he claimed his 150th ATP Tour-level victory on a hard court. Born in August 2001, the 22-year-old is also the first player born since 2000 to notch up 150 hard-court wins.
The Italian also remained unbeaten in 2024 as he is now 15-0 as he won seven matches at the Australian Open, five at the Rotterdam Open and now three at Indian Wells while he is 18-0 overall as he also won three Davis Cup matches in November last year.
“For sure it was a different match-up. I knew that obviously playing against him, there’s not so much rhythm,” he said of the Shelton victory. “But I think I can be really proud about how I played.
“I just tried to stay positive. There were tough moments, especially in the first set. I’m really happy that I won that, and obviously started really positive in the second set, which gave me a lot of confidence.”
Battle For No 2 Ranking
Another rising star awaits Sinner in the quarter-final as he faces Czech Jiri Lehecka, who followed up his win over fifth seed Andrey Rublev with victory over 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
If the 22-year-old gets past Lehecka, then he is projected to meet Alcaraz in the semi-final with the No 2 spot in the AtP Rankings on the line.
Sinner has overtaken Alcaraz in the LIVE Rankings as the Spaniard dropped 1,000 points from his 2023 title defence while Novak Djokovic remains well clear at No 1 while Daniil Medvedev is a distant fourth.
LIVE Rankings
1. Novak Djokovic 9,725 points
2. Jannik Sinner 8,110
3. Carlos Alcaraz
4. Daniil Medvedev 7,215
Sinner’s 105-point lead means he only has to equal or better Alcaraz’s record at the ATP Masters 1000 event to remain at No 2, but the position could well be settled in the semi-final.
If he does end up outlasting the reigning Wimbledon champion, then Sinner will become the first Italian man to be ranked No 2.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, has a trickier last-eight encounter as he faces Alexander Zverev, the man who beat him in the quarter-final of the Australian Open as well as last November’s ATP Finals round-robin phase.
