Carlos Alcaraz provides immediate reminder of pedigree with emphatic Indian Wells title
When Carlos Alcaraz sat down to talk to The National at the end of last year, following a historic and record-breaking season, the Spanish teenager said he was expecting a challenging 2023.
After all, 2022 had been near flawless, culminating in a Grand Slam breakthrough at the US Open and a rise to become the youngest world No 1 in ATP Tour history. This year, though, Alcaraz said he would be ready for more adversity and a renewed challenge from his rivals as he prepared for a first full season as the hunted.
It didn't take long for the first setback of Alcaraz's prodigious career, with a hamstring injury causing him to miss the Australian Open and the first six weeks of the season. Arriving in California last week for the Indian Wells Masters, Alcaraz's preparation comprised of two claycourt tournaments in South America, where he won the title in Buenos Aires and reached the final in Rio de Janeiro – where the hamstring issue flared up again.
Yet to reach full fitness, hindered by a hamstring niggle, and unaccustomed to the tournament's hardcourt conditions, few within tennis would have judged Alcaraz too harshly had his Indian Wells campaign ended early, despite being the top seed in the absence of world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Instead, the 19-year-old bulldozed his way through the field, even dominating the tour's most in-form player, Daniil Medvedev, in the final and clinching the title without facing a break point all week. While the 19 previous opponents, including Djokovic, were powerless to stop Medvedev, Alcaraz put him firmly in his place and denied the Russian a fourth successive title.
By winning the trophy, Alcaraz returned to the top of the rankings on Monday, an achievement perhaps aided by Djokovic missing