Alcaraz successfully defended his title in Indian Wells by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the finals for the second year in a row. The young Spaniard had previously defended two titles in his career, but the Indian Wells title proved to be more challenging. Alcaraz had recently recovered from an ankle injury sustained in Rio, and he played cautiously in his first match of the tournament. However, he did not drop a set on his way to winning the title once again.
In the finals, Alcaraz faced Medvedev, a rematch of the 2023 finals. Medvedev was aiming to win Indian Wells and complete his collection of major titles on US soil. Despite his efforts, Alcaraz denied him the victory and prevented him from claiming the coveted “fifth Grand Slam” of tennis. The final was a thrilling match, with the first set tiebreaker lasting over an hour. Alcaraz narrowly won the tiebreaker and went on to dominate the second set, ultimately winning the finals 7-6(5), 6-1 and securing his 13th career title.
Not only did Alcaraz receive congratulations from Medvedev, but also from Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz. Sainz took to his Instagram stories to congratulate Alcaraz in Spanish, and Alcaraz reshared the message on his own Instagram story, expressing his gratitude.
With the first half of the Sunshine Double complete, all eyes are now on the second half. Due to the withdrawal of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz will now be the top seed for the Masters event. He had previously won the title in 2022, marking his first-ever Masters-1000 victory. Although he lost in the semifinals in 2023, Alcaraz enters the tournament with momentum after his Indian Wells triumph. He also has the added motivation of closing the gap in the rankings between him and Djokovic.
Currently, Djokovic holds the top spot with 9725 points, while Alcaraz is in second place with 8805 points, a difference of 920 points. If Alcaraz wins the title in Miami, he will earn 9445 points, reducing the gap to just 280 points between them.