CARLOS ALCARAZ DEFEATED Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (5) 6-1 on Sunday to win his second-straight BNP Paribas Open title at Indian Wells.
The world number two took only one hour and 42 minutes to claim victory, marking Alcaraz’s first title since his triumph at Wimbledon last year.
The 20-year-old Spaniard began the Indian Wells tournament with a 6-3 record on the season and an injured ankle, which he sustained during his latest outing in Rio de Janeiro.
Medvedev started strong in the match’s opening rounds, establishing a 3-0 lead as Alcaraz’s errors began to pile up.
It did not take long for Alcaraz to find his feet though, breaking back before matching the world number four to force a tie-break.
He almost let an early lead in the tie-break slip by, but recovered again to take the first set in just over an hour.
Once he had broken out in front, the world number two was barely troubled in the second set en route to retaining his Indian Wells title.
He told reporters on-court after the match that the win had bolstered his confidence following his Rio injury scare.
“Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle,” Alcaraz said.
“I remember my first practice here was just 30 minutes with no movement, and probably the first practice with really good tennis players was really tough for me because I thought I was not going to play my best.”
He added: “I was not feeling well with my ankle, so a lot of doubts for me. But once I stepped on the court, the first round, I started to feel better.”
Meanwhile, world number one Iga Swiatek coasted to victory over Maria Sakkari to win the women’s final.
In a repeat of the 2022 decider at Indian Wells, Swiatek proved too strong and won her second WTA title of the year with a straightforward 6-4 6-0 success.
Swiatek, 22, never looked in trouble and once again showed why she has spent nearly two years atop the women’s rankings.
The Polish star raced into a lead as stars including Zendaya and Tom Holland watched on, sealing the opening set with a perfect forehand drive after Sakkari had briefly looked to fight back by breaking to level at 3-3.
The second set was even more of a one-sided affair as Greece’s Sakkari, beaten in the final two years ago 6-4 6-1, could not win a game this time around.
“Every year I come here, I feel a really positive vibe,” she said on court following her latest success.
“I want to thank my team, for every little thing we work on, which ends up working. For sure we’re going to celebrate – many things to celebrate.”
