Carlos Alcaraz overcomes self-doubts to end long wait for title at Indian Wells

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? Nothing.

While Alcaraz was still contending during that time, there was a noticeable drop-off in results compared to the outrageous volume of titles he collected in the 18 months prior – 11 titles to be exact. After winning Wimbledon, the Spaniard reached one final and four semi-finals in 11 events; not a bad return but hardly the standards he had set for himself.

So, there was plenty of pressure on Alcaraz's shoulders when he arrived in the Californian desert last week for his Indian Wells title defence, which had been made more challenging by a recent ankle injury and the emergence of rival Jannik Sinner as the world's best player in 2024.

One week and six matches later, Alcaraz was back in the winners' circle and fully back in