World number two Carlos Alcaraz clinched back-to-back Indian Wells Masters crowns with a straight-sets victory over Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's men's singles final.
Locking horns in the California showpiece for the second year running after Alcaraz's 6-3 6-2 victory in 2023, the Spaniard was given a rough ride by his more experienced foe in the opening set but was an unstoppable force in the second.
Alcaraz wrapped up a 7-6[5] 6-1 victory in one hour and 42 minutes to become the first male player to win consecutive Indian Wells titles since Novak Djokovic triumphed three years running from 2014 to 2016.
Victory on American soil represented the 20-year-old's fifth ATP Tour Masters triumph, his 13th top-level title overall and his first crown of the 2024 season, having last prevailed at Wimbledon 2023.
Alcaraz's success at Indian Wells came in spite of the ankle injury which forced him to retire from the Rio Open last month, which led to "a lot of doubts" about how he would perform at the Masters tournament.
"Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle," the champion said while addressing the crowd on the court.
VAMOS! 💪
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) March 17, 2024
The moment Carlos Alcaraz WINS his first title since Wimbledon 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hfIWdUiWx3
"I remember my first practice here was just 30 minutes with no movement and probably the first practice with really good tennis players was really tough for me, because I thought I was not going to play my best. I was not feeling well with my ankle, so a lot of doubts for me. But once I stepped on the court, the first round, I started to feel better."
Alcaraz had snapped Jannik Sinner's 19-match winning streak in the semi-finals to qualify for the California showpiece, but unforced errors crept in for the 20-year-old early doors as Medvedev won the first three games.
The Russian then saved three break points to hold, but Alcaraz's unrelenting pressure quickly told as he earned the break back in the fifth game and quickly took the match by the scruff of the neck.
The holder squandered another chance to break Medvedev's serve in the ninth game as the fourth seed held out for a tie-breaker, but he could not recover after losing the opening three points and ceded the first set to Alcaraz on an unforced error.
More mistakes from the 28-year-old allowed the ruthless Alcaraz to build up a healthy 5-1 lead in the second set - thanks also to his Medvedev-esque deep returning position - and the Spaniard let out an almighty cry of "Vamos" after Medvedev sent a forehand wide on his first match point.
In addition to taking home the Masters title, Alcaraz now has four triumphs to show from his six ATP Tour clashes with Medvedev, and he is just the second male player aged 21 or under to win two straight Indian Wells honours after Boris Becker in 1987 and 1988.
Prior to Alcaraz and Medvedev's battle, women's world number one Iga Swiatek also earned her second Indian Wells crown with a dominant 6-4 6-0 victory over Maria Sakkari in the women's singles final.
Ben Knapton
