Advantage Alcaraz as Djokovic goes missing

Daniil Medvedev stepped out on to Stadium 1 at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday evening with a 19-match winning run behind him, confidence flowing. He was the in-form player on the tour, a champion established as the best hard-court player of his generation. And yet, by the end, none of that mattered: Forty-five minutes into the final, he was completely out of ideas.

Such is the power of Carlos Alcaraz, a generational talent who at 19 continues to produce greatness seemingly every time he steps on the court. After a brutal few months of injuries, Alcaraz re-established himself at the top with a statement victory, demolishing Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the Indian Wells title and clinch his first big win since becoming US Open champion.

Alcaraz’s victory followed a maiden WTA 1000 triumph for Elena Rybakina, who also won her first important title since her maiden grand slam championship win, edging out Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 in a tense, mentally exhausting tussle.

With his third career Masters 1000 title and eighth overall, Alcaraz will regain the ATP’s No 1 ranking, rising above Novak Djokovic, who is absent from Indian Wells and the Miami Open due to his vaccination status. This was the first time that Alcaraz has won a Masters 1000 title without dropping a set, describing it later as “the perfect tournament”.

“It feels amazing to lift the trophy here, to recover the No 1,” he said. “I would say this has been the perfect tournament. I expect the toughest match. But I played perfect, let’s say. Against Daniil you have to play your best, and tactically at your best level, as well. That’s why it looks easy, but it wasn’t.”

From the beginning, the Spaniard laid down a marker by stepping inside the baseline to obliterate the ball off both wings to easily pick apart one of the best defensive players in the world. As Medvedev returned and scrambled from close to the back fence, Alcaraz took advantage of his deep- court positioning by pairing his destructive, relentless shotmaking with constant forays to the net, serve-and-volley attempts and drops.

Medvedev tried hard to find a solution but he was outmatched. When he tried to break Alcaraz down with his consistency, he could only watch as the ball constantly flew past him.

When he tried to attack, Alcaraz’s own supreme defensive skills broke him down. A 19-year-old is supposed to have glaring weak points to their game but Alcaraz is so complete that few players can stay with him.

After the euphoria of Alcaraz’s unprecedented breakthrough 2022 season, which culminated with a first grand slam title and the distinction of being ATP’s first teenage world No 1, he quickly faced the grim reality of professional tennis.

His body crumbled, abdominal and hamstring injuries forcing him to miss the ATP Finals and the Australian Open. Yet he has been able to quickly recover both his level and aura, and this latest victory hints at a dominance only just beginning.

The new rankings, topped by Alcaraz, confirm Rafael Nadal has dropped out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in 18 years. The Spaniard is still dogged by his hip problem at the Australian Open and is down to 13th, his lowest ranking since 17 April 2005.

‘Against Daniil, you have to play your best ... It looks easy, but it wasn’t’

Carlos Alcaraz World No 1