Ben Shin
After playing exceptional hardcourt tennis, Alcaraz won the 2023 Indian Wells on March 19, 2023.
On March 19, Carlos Alcaraz, the 19 year old tennis phenom, won the BNP Paribas Open, which is also known as the Indian Wells Masters 1000. He destroyed his competition and overwhelmed his opponent in the final, not losing a single set out of the six matches he played, becoming the first tournament champion to win the title without losing a set since Roger Federer in 2017. He has now won three Masters 1000 events; Madrid, Miami, and Indian Wells, becoming the ninth youngest person to win both the Miami Open and Indian Wells. Like his countryman Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz is one of the only people to win at least three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager. At the pace that Alcaraz is winning, he could surpass Nadal’s incredible record.
Coming in as the one seed, Alcaraz began his triumph against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round and Tallon Griekspoor in the second. He was able to overpower Kokkinakis, winning 6-3 6-3, as well as Griekspoor 7-6(4) 6-3. Griekspoor gave a good fight against Alcacaraz, being just the second person to even take him into a tiebreak. Next, he played Jack Draper, a young, up-and-coming British talent. However, Draper injured his stomach in a prior round and had to retire halfway through the match with a resulting score of 6-2, 2-0. In the quarter-final, Alcaraz faced the eighth seed, Felix Auger-Aliassime. At the time of their meeting, Felix had won all three of their previous encounters. Alcaraz came out firing, beating Felix solidly 6-4, 6-4. In the semi-final, Alcaraz played Jannik Sinner. These two are the best of the new generation, and many consider them rivals. Alcaraz played stunning tennis to Sinner as Alcaraz stayed in control of the match, winning 7-6(4), 6-3, which was coincidentally the same exact score of Alcaraz’s second round match.
As for the final, the match might have been the most one-sided finale in a Masters 1000 level event in a while. Carlos Alcaraz faced Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final, stunning him with a dominating 6-3, 6-2 score. Over the course of the match, Alcaraz hit 18 winners, exceeding Medvedev’s five total winners. He also won countless points with his signature drop shot. Before this tournament, Medvedev had won three ATP tournaments in a row. This means that he was playing well, but Alcaraz was simply playing better. When watching the match, it just seemed like Daniil had no way to respond to Alcaraz’s game. By winning this match, Carlos Alcaraz has regained his spot as the ATP’s world number one as well as another trophy to his collection.
Comments