Rain Disrupts Indian Wells Semifinal Between Sinner and Alcaraz

Rain becomes the protagonist at Indian Wells as anticipation grows for the Masters 1000 semifinal between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. At stake is not only a spot in the final but also the number 2 position in the ATP ranking, currently held by the Spaniard and targeted by the Italian player. Following a bee invasion that affected the quarterfinal between Alcaraz and Zverev, the Californian Saturday is characterized by bad weather. Sinner and Alcaraz play just 17 minutes before the arrival of the rain: three games with the South Tyrolean ahead 2-1. As it begins to rain, the chair umpire keeps the players on the court hoping the rain will be brief. Sinner-Alcaraz 2-1, match suspended due to rain: the players return to the locker rooms. There is also room for a gentlemanly gesture from Sinner just before the official suspension. The South Tyrolean indeed took the umbrella from the ball girl, starting to chat with the girl. This continued until the decision was made to send both him and Alcaraz back to the locker rooms. Players in the locker rooms: After about twenty minutes, the players had returned to the field and had begun to warm up but were then forced to return again to the locker rooms due to the intense rain over Coachella Valley, waiting for the weather to clear up so play can finally resume. Meanwhile, during the day, the official withdrawal of Novak Djokovic from next week's Miami tournament was announced. Unfortunately, I will not play at the MiamiOpen this year - writes the world No. 1 on his social channels. At this stage of my career, I am balancing my private and professional schedule. I am sorry not to be able to meet some of the best and most passionate fans in the world and look forward to playing in Miami in the future. After the surprise exit from Indian Wells, eliminated by the Italian Luca Nardi in the third round, the Serbian champion seemed destined to seek an immediate rematch in Florida, but rumors of his probable withdrawal soon circulated, arriving punctually. Good news for Italian tennis comes from Arizona where Matteo Berrettini, returning after more than six months off, reached the semifinal.