Carlos Alcaraz ends Medvedev's winning streak to win first Indian Wells title

TENNIS Carlos Alcaraz ends Medvedev's winning streak to win first Indian Wells title

Funmilayo Fameso 02:39 - 20.03.2023

Carlos Alcaraz completed a dominant run to his maiden Indian Wells title on Sunday, with perhaps his most one-sided victory of the tournament against Daniil Medvedev.

World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz overwhelmed No.5 seed Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win his maiden Indian Wells title, adding up to his eighth career title in the ATP Tour.

Medvedev stood no chance and had no answers to Alcaraz's plays as the young Spaniard completely rattled his older rival, winning in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz makes history for first Indian Wells title
Carlos Alcaraz

By doing this, the 19-year-old ended the Russian's 19-match winning streak and reclaimed the No.1 spot on the ATP ranking, and making it his third ATP Masters title.

Incredible stats of Alcaraz's victory

  • He is the youngest (and the first teenager) to win the Sunshine Double.
  • The second player after Rafael Nadal to win more than two Masters 1000 before the age 20.
  • Joins Roger Federer as the only two men to win the Indian Wells and not drop a set.
  • The second youngest Indian Wells champ (after Becker).
  • Alcaraz is one of the only three players to hold a 100% record in multiple ATP Masters 1000 finals - Courier (5) and Davydenko (3).
  • With his victory of 6-3 6-2, it is the fifth time in men's singles history, a player has conceded five or fewer games in the final - Hewitt (2001, 2002), Nadal (2009), Novak Djokovic (2016).

Medvedev on Alcaraz

The No.5 seed had nice things to say about the youngster, making mention of his respect for others.

Medvedev loses Indian Wells title to incredible Carlos Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev

"You already have amazing achievements in your career. Winning Indian Wells is one of them. You are probably the most respectful player on tour, saying hi to 300 people per day."

And on his favourite part about the tournament, he said: "If we don't talk about the court... I love this tournament".

Alcaraz on reclaiming the No. 1 ranking

"It means a lot to me. To recover the No. 1 [ranking] is crazy for me," Alcaraz said after wrapping up the win in a rapid one hour, 10 minutes. "But especially to lift the trophy here for me means a lot... I love this tournament. I really enjoy my time here and of course I felt the love from the people from day one. For me, it's amazing to complete these 10 days like this."

Alcaraz reclaims No.1 spot in Indian Wells victory over Daniil Medvedev
Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz wrapped up his statement victory without facing a break point to re-establish himself at the pinnacle of the men's game. In order to maintain his position atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Alcaraz must complete the calendar-year Sunshine Double by defending his Miami title over the course of the next two weeks.

"Of course winning a tournament, it gives you a lot of confidence [entering Miami]," the Spaniard said, looking ahead to the year's second ATP Masters 1000 event. "I'm playing great. Of course today, the conditions today were pretty tough. Of course Daniil didn't play at his best, obviously. All I can say is I'm really happy with my performance, the way that I [was] playing this tournament. I'm looking forward to playing this level in Miami as well," he said.

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