Carlos Alcaraz Secures Consecutive Indian Wells (2024) Triumphs, Defeating Medvedev in Final
Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old tennis sensation from Spain, has clinched his second consecutive Indian Wells title by triumphing over Daniil Medvedev in the thrilling final.
This victory places him in an elite category alongside tennis legends like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz squared off for the BNP Paribas Open championship at Indian Wells for the second year in a row, and Alcaraz won both times.
Even though the final score was closer than the 6-3, 6-2 victory from the previous year, Alcaraz won in straight sets, coming back from an early 3-0 hole to defeat the Russian 7-6 (5), 6-1, to win the title.
The world No. 4 Medvedev gave Alcaraz trouble early in the Sunday final after the team defeated No. 6-ranked Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and ended No. 3-ranked Jannik Sinner’s 19-match winning run in the semifinals.
Alcaraz, however, quickly regained the break to put the first set back on serve. The two eventually held and Alcaraz finished the exhausting 69-minute opening set in the tie-break.
Subsequently, the floodgates opened as the Spaniard stormed to a 3-0 lead in the second set and won the next three sets without looking back.
In the end, Alcaraz had three more unintentional mistakes than Medvedev (26 to 23), but more than twice as many victories (24 to 11). Of the 24 winners the Spaniard had, 19 came from his forehand alone.
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Alcaraz therefore adds his sixth Masters 1000 victory to his victories in Indian Wells and Madrid in 2023, as well as Miami and Madrid in 2022. In his short career, it’s the 13th overall tour-level title.Â
During his on-court interview, Alcaraz stated, “Winning this tournament means a lot to me.” “I had a lot of reservations about my ankle the week before it started. I recall that I was not playing at my best during my first practice here, which lasted for just thirty minutes without any movement. It was also possibly my first session with really good tennis players. My ankle was giving me trouble.
“However, as soon as I took the court for the first time, I felt better, and as I mentioned, I felt better and better after every match. I’m really, really happy to have won this tournament again.”
“I’m feeling great right now, this tournament means a lot to me,” declared Alcaraz, who became the first player since Novak Djokovic in 2016 to win two straight titles at Indian Wells.
“It’s always a pleasure to play here, but I think this year is even more special because I was unsure about my ability to play well before the tournament.”
Alcaraz stated, “I was not feeling well with my ankle,” in reference to a recent ankle problem.
“I had a lot of doubts weeks before the tournament because I was hitting for 30 minutes straight with no movement, but I was really happy to be able to overcome those issues and feel better at the end.”
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Due to Medvedev’s early break, Alcaraz was behind early in the match. However, he battled back magnificently to take the lead and end the match strongly.
Alcatraz said, “Not just a little bit, there were a lot of nerves.”
“The match started off difficult for me; I wasn’t feeling well with the ball, and it was a little bit tough, but anything can happen.”You can turn it around and start playing better in three games, and that’s exactly what I did—I began to control my emotions and calm down, which helped me feel better.
With the triumph, Alcaraz accomplished a few objectives:
In the last eight years, he is the first guy to successfully defend an Indian Wells championship:
Novak Djokovic was the last person to successfully navigate the tennis paradise in consecutive years. He accomplished this feat by winning three straight matches in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
He’s the only person in history to win five Masters 1000 championships prior to turning 21:
The 20-year-old Spaniard becomes the very select list’s member to join fellow countryman Rafael Nadal, who won nine titles prior to turning 21.
It was his First Title Win since Wimbledon:
Alcaraz has performed admirably since winning his second Grand Slam championship in July of last year, reaching four more semifinals, including the US Open and ATP Finals, and a final in Cincinnati. However, he is back in the winner’s circle here in the desert.
