Back on the throne! Spain’s Alcaraz wins Indian Wells tournament and becomes world number one again

Spanish talent Carlos Alcaraz continues his amazing performances after an injury-forced break. After winning the tournament in Buenos Aires, he managed to dominate the Masters in Indian Wells without losing a single set. In the final, he literally swept away the then brilliant Daniil Medvedev and became the youngest player in history to win both Sunshine Double trophies.

He became the youngest world number one in history after his winning campaign at the US Open last year. But then everything went wrong when an abdominal muscle injury came up, which prevented him from participating in this year’s Australian Open.

Alcaraz also lost his world number one spot, where Novak Djokovic quickly returned. The latter managed to win the first Grand Slam of the season but was not allowed to compete in tournaments in the United States due to a missing coronavirus vaccination.

The Spanish youngster returned to play at the South American clay events in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He was able to win the first of the tournaments with ease. In the second, he found his match against the British Norrie in the final.

A renewed minor hamstring injury was also to blame. However, Alcaraz managed to get ready for his first match at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and showed his great potential.

He breezed through the tournament without losing a single set, and on his way to beating three members of the top 20, Félix-Auger Aliassim, Jannik Sinner and in the final, the sovereign of the last few weeks, Daniil Medvedev.

In the first set, he only needed one break in the second game. It was played in very difficult conditions as the wind started blowing unpleasantly in the Californian desert – 6-3.

“The conditions were tough today and Daniil wasn’t quite in shape, but I played great here. This win will give me a lot of confidence, so hopefully my form will continue in Miami,” said Alcaraz about his performance.

The match was decided by the quality of his serve. The Spaniard didn’t allow his opponent a single break point, and he dominated the winners’ stroke statistics.

The world number one started the second game with a break and soon took a 3-0 lead thanks to his opponent’s errors. Alcaraz managed to finish the match 6-2.

Carlos Alcaraz was thus able to lift his eighth career trophy over his head after the match. He won the Masters tournament three times and became the second player in history to do so as a teenager.

The first is none other than Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz also became the youngest winner of the Sunshine Double, the tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

So today the Murcia native begins his 21st week as world number one and to keep his throne, he will also have to win the next tournament in Miami.

“It means a lot to me. It’s crazy to get back to No. 1. It means a lot to me as well to lift this trophy over my head… I love this tournament, I enjoy all the time and the support of the people here. It’s amazing to end the ten days this way,” rejoiced the 19-year-old super-talent after the match.

Sources: ATP, Twitter