Carlos Alcaraz overcomes ‘a lot of doubt’ to retain Indian Wells title
Carlos Alcaraz has become the first man to defend the Indian Wells singles title since Novak Djokovic in 2016, after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final for a second successive year.
Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 7-6(5) 6-1, with the Spaniard claiming the fifth Masters 1000 title of his young career.
And the 20-year-old described the victory as ‘special’ after the match,Ā āIām feeling great right now, this tournament means a lot to me. Playing here is so special to me but I think this year is a bit more special because before the tournament I was thinking about whether I could play my best or not.ā
It had been far from an ideal preparation for Alcaraz, who sprained his ankle at the Rio Open two weeks prior.
The world No.2 revealed how this setback affected him, āI was not feeling well with my ankle. Weeks before the tournament I was hitting for 30 minutes with no movement, so there was a lot of doubt for me, but I was really happy to be able to overcome those problems and at the end feel better.ā
Although Alcaraz beat Medvedev in straight sets once again in the Indian Wells final, the Russian actually lead with an early break in the first set.
This is something that Alcaraz appeared to put down to nerves,Ā āNot just a little bit, there were a lot of nerves. It was difficult to start to the match, I was not feeling good with the ball, and it was a little bit tough for me but anything can happen.
āIn three games you can turn it around and start to play better and thatās what I did, I started to calm myself and control my emotions and started to feel better.ā
So happy to win the ???? in Indian Wells, but above all with my level this week against the best in the world! It means so much to me! ???? Your support has been vital, once again! VAMOS! ????ā¤ļø????????
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— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) March 18, 2024
Not only has Alcaraz dealt with injury this year, but also some uncharacteristic defeats and the Murcian spoke in his press conference about how he has found himself again over the past fortnight.
āThe last two months were difficult for me to find myself. I didnāt enjoy stepping on the court. I wasnāt myself on the court the last two months, three months, so it was difficult for me,” admitted Alcaraz. āIt means a lot to me winning this tournament because I overcame a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically.ā
The 20-year-old added, āFor me, if I win tournaments or not, I donāt care. Itās about enjoying playing tennis, once I step on the court, putting my game. Itās what only matters.Ā Thatās why Iām really happy to lift this trophy because I found myself at this tournament, and I felt good.ā
5 – Carlos Alcaraz has claimed a fifth ATP Masters 1000 title from 21 main draws entered. Now at 23.8%, Alcaraz only trails Novak Djokovic (31.3%) and Rafael Nadal (28.1%) for Masters event win rate ā since 1990. Whoa.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @carlosalcaraz @atptour pic.twitter.com/Y7Zi7gY6KQ
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 17, 2024
Alcaraz will now head to the Miami Open, in a bid to become only the eighth man to complete the sunshine double in the same year.
Inside the baseline…
Carlos Alcaraz could not have put it any better, it really did seem as though he found himself at Indian Wells. Not only has he made history by defending the title in California, but the 20-year-old has also held off Jannik Sinner to maintain his spot as world No.2 – at least for the time being. With Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the Miami Open, there will be a lot of hype around a potential Alcaraz-Sinner final as the top two seeds.
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