“I’m ready. The title and being number 1 is a great goal and I’m going to go for it,” said Carlos Alcaraz before facing Indian Wells. No sooner said than done. The Murcian lifted the champion’s trophy in the Californian desert and regained the world throne after an impeccable week that culminated in sweeping Daniil Medvedev in the final. Now comes the most difficult yet, to stay on top, a huge challenge.
The tennis player from El Palmar, only 19 years old, arrived at the unofficially considered fifth Grand Slam recently recovered from a grade 1 strain on his right hamstring that forced him to withdraw the week before from the Acapulco tournament. His fitness was unknown until he cleared all doubts with a solid win over Kokkinakis in his Tennis Garden debut.
Subsequently, Alcaraz advanced steadily in Indian Wells, leaving Griekspoor, Draper, Auger-Aliassime and Sinner along the way, the latter two executioners of the Spaniard in previous duels. Finally, Medvedev suffered in the title match from the great form of the Murcian tennis player, who did not drop a single set in the entire championship.
“Thank you very much for everything. I know that I am very young and that I have many things to learn and that it is not easy,” said the new tennis phenomenon, still on the court, with the twist in his hand, who must maintain this level of excellence to retain number 1. Alcaraz won his first Masters 1000 in Miami last year and must repeat that success in Florida to remain at the top of the ATP ranking.
His main rival for continuing to be the king of tennis will once again be Novak Djokovic, relegated this week to number 2 with the triumph of ‘Carlitos’ in Indian Wells. The Serb, who has not been able to enter the United States because he was not vaccinated against covid, does not defend points in Miami, where he did not participate in the previous edition either due to his reluctance to the vaccine.
Alcaraz will arrive with a margin of 260 points over the Balkan and with the need to defend the 1,000 points he reaped with his victory in 2022. If he fails to retain the title, the Murcian will be passed by Djokovic and the battle for number 1 will He will move to the clay court tour, where the Belgrade player defends 1,880 points against 1,870 for the Spanish. The Serbian already took number 1 from El Palmar when he won his tenth Australian Open last January.
Alcaraz will maintain that particular fight with the winner of 22 Grand Slams in Monte Carlo, where both lost in the first round last year. Later, the Murcian must defend the booty of the current champion in the Conde de Godó Trophy and the Madrid Masters, but the tables will change in the Rome Masters, won by the Serbian in 2022. Roland Garros will be the last stop on clay for the two tennis players, who in the previous edition of the French great fell in the quarterfinals.
The challenge is served between a legend like Djokovic and an Alcaraz who is beginning to write his history in tennis. In that duel, however, the incombustible Rafa Nadal, the absolute king of clay courts, who due to his injuries has left the top ten this Monday for the first time since 2005 (he is number 13) can break in at any time.
