Indian Wells 2024 Day 5 Recap: Alcaraz and Sinner Sweep into Last 16

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner maintained their semi-final collision course at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open as both men made serene progress into the fourth round at the Tennis Gardens.

First to progress was Carlos Alcaraz, who outclassed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-3 before Jannik Sinner joined him with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win against Jan-Lennard Struff.

Other seeds to progress included Sascha Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Stefanos Tstisipas, who all won through in straight sets.

However, Jiri Lehecka dispatched 5th seed Andrey Rublev, who made an earlier-than-predicted exit. The full results from day five in Indian Wells are below.

Day Five 2024 BNP Paribas Open Round of 32 Results

Alcaraz Dominates Aliassime

Carlos Alcaraz made a repeat of last year in Indian Wells as he proved too strong for Felix Auger-Aliassime with a 6-2, 6-3 win.

The Canadian, once billed as the heir to Roger Federer’s throne at the top of men’s tennis, given their shared birthday, was outclassed by the defending champion. He only won 54% behind his first serve.

Alcaraz peeled off seven straight games from 1-2 in the first set. Once he had the lead, his tennis was free-flowing and never in danger of being broken en route to the win. 

Alcaraz will next face Fabian Marozsan, who shocked him last year at the Rome Masters.

I think he didn’t get that many points with his serves. I think he lives with his serve. I put almost every return in, playing the point. I felt that I was better than him from the baseline. I put some good points on the court, and I think it went well. I played aggressively with fewer mistakes. I think it was almost a perfect match for me. Alcaraz on his win over Auger-Aliassime.

Sinner Extends Winning Streak

Jannik Sinner made light work of Jan-Lennard Struff in their first meeting, cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 victory and extending his winning streak to 17 matches.

While the two had practised together in Monte Carlo, they’d never met on tour, and the Italian dominated throughout. He countered Struff’s aggressions with plenty of his own and was superior in all areas, including the serve.

Sinner will face Ben Shelton in the round of sixteen after the American came through a tricky three-setter against Francisco Cerundolo.

I tried to take some confidence and obviously tried to serve very well under pressure, which I did very well today. I knew that he’s a big server and going for shots, so I tried to stay as aggressive as he was. Sinner on facing Struff for the first time.

Tsitsipas Makes Fourth Round

It was the first top-20 win of the season for Tsitipas as he took out Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes.

Tsitsipas has recently fallen out of the top 10 for the first time since 2019 and hasn’t quite been able to find his best tennis, but he was in fine form against the patchy Tiafoe, constantly putting him on the defence thanks to his heavy forehand and having one of his best returning days in recent memory.

It’s part of the whole experience being outside of the top 10. That is what you subscribe to, not being within those high-ranked guys. That’s what comes with it. Of course, I’m prepared for it, for any circumstance, and any new opening or anything different that might occur in my career, I just try and face it as good as I can and deal with it daily. Tsitsipas on his drop in form.

Other Matches of Note

Indian Wells Day 6 Round of 32 Matches