ALCAREZ, SINNER OUT TO PROVE WHO’S BEST
Carlos Alcaraz showed up at the Miami Open two years ago a relatively unknown Spanish teenager with blistering groundstrokes, youthful exuberance and a daring drop shot.
By the time he left, he was the youngest men’s champion in tournament history and fielding calls from Felipe VI, the King of Spain. Alcaraz was the latest in a string of eventual superstars who made their breakthroughs amid South Florida’s palm trees and suffocating humidity.
The kid went on to win the U.S. Open at age 19, becoming the youngest world No. 1 in history. He was dubbed “The New Nadal” and, at times, looked unbeatable. But he proved mortal in late 2023 and early 2024, failing to win a title since Wimbledon last summer.
He arrives at Hard Rock Stadium this week for the Miami Open with the No. 2 ranking and renewed confidence after an impressive run to the BNP Paribas Open final in the California desert in Indian Wells.
The 20-year-old cruised through the draw, pulling off a straight-sets quarterfinal win over Alexander Zverev that had to be paused midmatch because of an on-court bee invasion.
“For sure the most unusual match I have ever played in my career,” Alcaraz said. “I’ve never experienced something like that. I was ready to serve to the next point. I saw some bees around, but I thought it was just a few of them, just not too many. But I saw the sky and there were thousands, flying, stuck in my hair, going to me. It was crazy.”
Alcaraz followed that up with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback semifinal victory over Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner, the Italian phenom who was 19-0 this season and had dropped just one set at Indian Wells until he ran into Alcaraz.
“He’s the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt,” Alcaraz said of Sinner before the match.
Sinner is a two-time Miami Open runner-up and last year was beaten