Success is never linear, although Carlos Alcaraz did a pretty good job attempting to be the exception to the rule. When the Spaniard burst onto the tennis scene in 2022 as a precocious 18-year-old, it seemed everything he touched turned to gold – or more accurately, gold and silver trophies.
He started that season ranked No 32 on the ATP Tour, and ended it as a record-breaking world No 1, a Grand Slam champion, and the next big star of the men's game.
Alcaraz, whose victory at the 2022 US Open saw him become the youngest top-ranked male player in the Open era, began 2023 in a similar vein; after missing the Australian Open with injury, he returned in style by winning six of his first 10 tournaments, including two Masters titles – at Indian Wells and a successful defence of his Madrid Open trophy – and of course that famous win over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
However, in the seven-plus months between ending Djokovic's four-year Wimbledon reign and the start of Indian Wells last week?