Carlos Alcaraz becomes world number one again after winning the title at Indian Wells
Carlos Alcaraz described Indian Wells as “the perfect tournament” after clinching the title and returning to world number one.
The 19-year-old Spaniard lost first place to Novak Djokovic after retiring from the Australian Open through injury but has quickly rediscovered his best form, not dropping a set in two weeks.
Alcaraz shone in the final, putting on a dazzling display of all-court tennis to progress to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Daniil Medvedev that ended the Russian’s 19-match winning streak.
“It feels great to lift the trophy here and take back the number one,” he said. “I would say it was the perfect tournament.
“I expect the toughest match. But I played perfectly, shall we say. Against Daniil you have to do your best and also tactically at your best level. It’s always a tactical game against him and I played it perfectly. That’s why it looks easy, but it wasn’t.”
Having been unable to enter the US due to not being vaccinated against coronavirus, Djokovic will also miss this week’s Miami Open.
However, Alcaraz needs to successfully defend his title he won in Florida last year to prevent the Serb from immediately being number one again ahead of the clay-court season.
The updated rankings, meanwhile, confirm that Rafael Nadal has fallen out of the top 10 for the first time in 18 years.
Still sidelined by the hip problem he suffered at the Australian Open, the Spaniard is now 13th, his lowest ranking since April 17, 2005.
Medvedev was disappointed with his performance but having started the season with little confidence, this was another very strong tournament after three straight titles.
The 27-year-old, who has made his feelings clear about the slow pitch every fortnight, said: “I’m disappointed with the result but the week has been fantastic. Because Indian Wells reached the finals I’m just super happy and proud because it’s a clay court on a hard court. This is a good result for me.
“Lots of points, lots of things to see in the season. I started really well. I’ve already scored more points than last year. I only see good things and am definitely looking forward to Miami.”
The women’s final was a repeat of the Australian Open title decider, and this time it was Elena Rybakina who defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4.
Russia’s Rybakina initially struggled after winning her first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon and didn’t see the advantage in the rankings due to the distance of points, but now she’s seventh in the world and wants to move up further.
“I think the biggest goal is of course to be number one,” said the 23-year-old, who defeated table leader Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.
“There’s still a long way to go. So that’s the end goal, I would say. I’m seven at the moment, but you know how quickly rankings change. So I always have to focus on the next tournament I play.”
Sabalenka’s serving difficulties of last season were evident in an upside-down first set with 10 double faults and she’s hoping to learn from the experience.
“There will be some days where old habits come back and you just have to work your way through and not every game goes your way and you serve perfectly,” she said.
“So it’s just kind of a reminder that it’s okay to still struggle with something. It’s okay not to do your best and keep fighting and using the rest of the guns.”