Tennis, Indian Wells: Alcaraz dominates Medvedev and returns to No. 1 in the world

Let us make ourselves comfortable, gentlemen, that another Martian has descended upon the planet Tennis and has every intention of colonizing the area as even on Independence Day. Carlos Alcaraz, who is not even 20 years old, wins the third Masters 1000 in his career and once again knocks Novak Djokovic off the world throne, becoming world number one again. And he did all this by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final, who was crushed by the Iberian Fury 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and ten minutes. Therefore, the Russian stopped at 19 matches won in a row, which brought him three championships (Dubai, Doha, Rotterdam): he failed to play poker, but against Alcaraz (15 to 1 in 2023, he was defeated only by Nuri in the final in Rio de Janeiro) There wasn’t much to do.

phenomenon

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There has often been talk of improving margins for opponents of this formidable teenager from Murcia, but the truth is that he continues to improve, leaving everyone speechless. Alcaraz still sometimes plays like a boy, without that tactical wisdom that made Rafael Nadal legendary at his age, for example, but he can overflow, almost irrepressible, when he lights up. The Spaniard has an impressive variety of shots at his disposal and, paradoxically, this is also why he takes a lot of risks at times and makes mistakes (as he did, for example, in the semi-final against Sinner, also thanks to the Italian in this case), but when If it’s on fire, I’ll be a problem for everyone. Thanks also to Juan Carlos Ferrero, a coach who fits perfectly with Alcaraz’s exuberance, and who during the match spoke to his player always hitting the right chords, not necessarily from a tactical point of view but above all from a mental one, almost to want to calm him down and make him see why: it’s not Small details.

specialization

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Honestly, there is no point in commenting on the match, which was almost an execution. Quite unexpected, considering everyone expected a fight to the death. Instead, they are ready to go and Alcaraz immediately takes a break forward with a deadly chain from 12 points to 3. Medvedev, distraught, tries to change, change, even look for solutions that are unusual for him, but it’s all useless, with Alcaraz who has traveled With an amazing 80% from the start (not even a break point allowed in the game) and impressive aggression (three break points converted on three attempts in a match). The 19-year-old Spaniard took the first set 6-3 without appeal, and started stronger in the second, even cruising to 4-0. At that point, Medvedev had already raised the white flag, and Larry Ellison, the 78-year-old landlord and owner of Oracle who had always been in the front row, was getting a little bored with all this. The 6-2 final was liberating for the Russian, on a night he would have preferred to forget as soon as possible. It ends with the Cars winning the eighth championship of his career and again number one in the world. To keep it for a long time, the Ibri will now have to win in Miami and repeat the success of last year, to attempt the Sunshine Double that only ten (between men and women) in history have been able to obtain, last but not least Roger Federer in 2017. But for this Alcaraz, Even this does not seem like an impossible task.