Back to his best! Alcaraz blows away Medvedev to defend Indian Wells title
Carlos Alcaraz repeated his feat from last year, defeating Daniil Medvedev to defend his Indian Wells title in California on Sunday
Carlos Alcaraz, Indian Wells 2024 | © Panoramic
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the final of the Indian Wells Masters on Sunday evening, lifting the trophy for the second year in a row in California.
The Spaniard came into the event having not won a title since Wimbledon in July 2023, and struggling with an ankle injury. However, once again he steamrolled his way through the draw, dropping just two sets all tournament and picking up impressive wins over Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and Medvedev for the second year in a row.
“Winning this tournament means a lot to me,” said Alcaraz after his victory over former world No 1 Medvedev. “The week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle. I remember my first practice here was just 30 minutes with no movement.”
“Once I step on the court, the first round, I start to feel better. After every match it was feeling better and better, really happy to win this tournament again.”
Alcaraz has now won 12 consecutive matches at Indian Wells, becoming the youngest player ever to do so. He also becomes one of only two players in history to claim five or more ATP Masters titles under the age of 21, with Rafael Nadal the other.
Alcaraz forced to come back after slow start
While Alcaraz eventually cantered to victory in the Indian Wells final, this was a match that initially looked like it would be a lot trickier for the Spaniard.
The 20-year-old began by spraying errors left, right and centre, quickly falling behind 3-0 as he made a dozen unforced errors across the first few games. However, it did not take Alcaraz long to adjust as he found his range and quickly broke Medvedev back. Drawing level at 3-3, Alcaraz became the one putting more pressure on his opponent’s serve, gaining several break points but failing to capitalise.
With neither man playing their best tennis, the first set was a tight, entertaining affair that featured several memorable rallies and fittingly found its way to a tiebreak. Alcaraz gained a mini break in the first point of the breaker, moving ahead 4-2 at the change of ends where the first signs of frustration became apparent as Medvedev erupted at the chair umpire over a line call.
The Russian was able to draw level again at 5-5, but Alcaraz finished strong and closed out the tiebreaker 7-5, moving within one set of a successful title defence.
Spaniard reaches top gear in second set
If both players were short of their best in the opening set, Alcaraz came much closer to firing on all cylinders in the second.
Repeating Medvedev’s first set form, the Spaniard quickly broke and moved to a 3-0 lead. It seemed we would have further parallels when Medvedev held to make it 1-3. However, Alcaraz snuffed out any thoughts of a comeback by moving to a 4-1 lead. This soon became 5-1 with another break, and the 20-year-old serving for the championship.
It seemed Medvedev was resigned to his fate when he began quibbling with members of the audience in the final game, telling them to “shut up” then sarcastically imploring them for applause when he struck a powerful return. This failed to spark any momentum for the Russian, with Alcaraz winning 11 of the last 13 points in the match to successfully defend his 2023 Indian Wells title.
Alcaraz now moves to 4-2 in his head-to-head with Medvedev and becomes the strong favourite to win the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Miami. With no Novak Djokovic competing, Sinner having an injury question mark and Alcaraz back to his best, the Spaniard is well-placed to complete the Sunshine Double in a fortnight’s time.
