The reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz ended the 19-match winning streak of Jannik Sinner, the winner of the Australian Open, by defeating the Italian 1-6 6-3 6-2 and moving on to the BNP Paribas Open final ATP in Indian Wells.

With the win, Alcaraz maintained his No. 2 ranking in the world and will play in the title match on Sunday against the victor of Tommy Paul and Daniil Medvedev’s second semi-final.

Global No. 3 Rain in the Southern California desert caused the match to be halted for over three hours, with Sinner leading 2-1 in the opening set.

Sinner continued to control the first set until Alcaraz adjusted his strategy. The Spaniard began moving Sinner up and back and approaching the net more frequently.

“It’s crucial that I maintained my mental toughness,” Alcaraz stated.

“Compared to the previous set, I had to run more and defend better. Add extra balls to the mixture. Remain resilient while playing.”

With a victory, Sinner, 22, might have dethroned Alcaraz, 20, from the No. 2 ranking in the world. Since last year, he had won 19 straight games, including 16 this year.

In the fourth game of the second set, Alcaraz won the sole break of the match with a winning forehand drop volley. In the seventh game, he had a break point on his serve, but he handled it well and finished the set.

In the third and fifth games of the third, Alcaraz broke Sinner. There were many thrilling and highly angled volley exchanges as the players were attacking the net and blasting the ball from both sides.

Alcaraz netted a backhand to take a 40-love lead on his serve, his opening point of the match. Alcaraz’s second match point was thwarted by Sinner’s smash, and the Spaniard won it all with a forehand crosscourt shot.

Sinner had 38 unforced errors to 24 for Alcaraz and the Italian had 21 winners to 19 for Alcaraz.