Carlos Alcaraz has rediscovered his title-winning touch.
After eight months without a trophy, the 20-year-old roared back into the winner’s circle with a high-quality defence of his BNP Paribas Open crown in Indian Wells. Alcaraz capped his run with back-to-back wins against Top 10 rivals Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev to spark his 2024 season into life.
“It means a lot to me, lifting this trophy, winning this tournament, because I overcame a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically,” said Alcaraz after his 7-6(5), 6-1 final win against Medvedev on Sunday. “It was so special for that… I’m really, happy to lift this trophy, because I found myself at this tournament, and I felt really, really good.”
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Although he dropped just two sets en route to the trophy, Alcaraz’s run was not lacking in drama. His quarter-final against Zverev was delayed for nearly two hours after a swarm of bees arrived in Tennis Paradise, while he was forced to dig deep to snap Sinner’s unbeaten start to the year in a thrilling semi-final clash.
“Obviously winning tournaments helps a lot coming into the next ones,” said Alcaraz. “Winning a Masters 1000 again — it is a really difficult tournament to win — gives you extra motivation to keep going, extra confidence for Miami right now and for what’s next. For me it’s amazing to lift this amazing trophy again, a really beautiful one.”
Alcaraz next heads to Florida, where he will look to complete the coveted ‘Sunshine Double’ at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The Spaniard is the top seed at Hard Rock Stadium, where he will be chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown.
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ATP Tour contributed to this column
