Spain's Carlos Alcaraz handed Italy's Jannik Sinner his first loss of the year on Saturday and will seek his second straight Indian Wells Masters 1000 title in another final against Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian player booked his ticket to Sunday's final with a comeback win over American Tommy Paul.
Alcaraz also had to overcome a first set deficit in a vibrant battle with Sinner, the other jewel of the new generation, which was halted for three hours due to rain.
The Spaniard prevailed 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 ending Sinner's 16-match unbeaten streak this year, while also retaining his second place in the ATP rankings.
"Matches with Jannik are always special," admitted Alcaraz. "Every time I face Jannik I will be nervous. That's for sure. Because I know I have to play him 100 percent if I want to beat him." "We have a very good rivalry and of course to end the 16-game streak is unbelievable for me," he stressed.
Revalidating the crown
Alcaraz, 20, has it in his hand to become the first champion to revalidate the crown in the Californian desert since Novak Djokovic.
The Serb, the tour leader and eliminated this year in his second match, strung together three straight trophies between 2014 and 2016.
Saturday's comeback was also a huge confidence booster for Alcaraz as it halted the emergence of his generational rival who, including the end of last year, had gone 19 matches unbeaten.
"I had bees, I had rain"
The start of the most anticipated game of the tournament was interrupted after only 17 minutes by rain, which this year unusually affected the tournament.
The stoppage lasted for three hours and, after the restart, Sinner got the first break to go ahead 3-1.
It was another jolt for Alcaraz, who on Thursday overcame a much more unusual incident when he was attacked in the middle of the court by an invasion of bees.
"I had the bees, I had the rain.... Let's see what happens tomorrow," he joked.
The Spaniard will play again for the title against Daniil Medvedev, whom he swept in the 2023 final.
The Russian, who is aiming to win the only one of the six Masters 1000 on hard court that he does not own, defeated Tommy Paul 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
The American, ranked number 17 in the ATP, suffered a sprained ankle when he was dominating the second set tiebreak and was just a few points away from his first Masters 1000 final.
