INDIAN WELLS, CALIF./WASHINGTON, March 18, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
Neither a bee invasion nor a multi-hour rain delay could stop Carlos Alcaraz this week from successfully defending his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Neither could Daniil Medvedev come Sunday.
Alcaraz, the 20-year-old World No. 2 from Spain, retained his ATP Masters 1000 hard-court title with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over the World No. 3 Medvedev on Sunday afternoon in the scenic California palm desert. Luckily, there were no bee sightings at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday afternoon and the only rain was that of confetti that showered on Alcaraz after he lifted the champion’s trophy.
Confetti & Carlos 🎊🏆@carlosalcaraz | #IndianWells | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/Mp1go00xHG
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 17, 2024
It was Alcaraz’s first title since he won the Wimbledon Championships last July.
Although Alcaraz arrived at Indian Wells with a 6-3 win-loss record and was coming off an ankle strain suffered on clay at Rio de Janeiro last month, that forced him to retire, he handled his southern California fortnight with renewed enthusiasm and restored confidence.
“Winning this tournament means a lot to me,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview before the trophy ceremony, “because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle.
“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.”
The moment @carlosalcaraz defended his title 🏆#IndianWells | #TennisParadisepic.twitter.com/kyP20j2zfm
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 17, 2024
Following a first-round bye, Alcaraz won his opening match over Matteo Arnaldi of Italy but had to come from behind to win, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-1. From there, though, Alcaraz won his next three matches without dropping a set. He beat No. 31 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan and No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, in which he suffered a bee sting on his forehead. Then, in a rain-delayed semifinal Saturday, Alcaraz overcame No. 3 seed Jannik Sinner, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, which stopped the Italian’s 16-0 start to the 2024 season.
It set up Sunday’s title match against Medvedev of Russia, who advanced with a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 semifinal win over No. 17 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, following earlier wins over Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain. No. 29 seed Sebastian Korda of the United States, No. 13 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, and No. 7 seed Holger Rune of Denmark.
Alcaraz and Medvedev squared off in the Indian Wells final last year, won by the Spaniard, 6-3, 6-2. By the conclusion of this year’s one-hour, 42-minute final, Alcaraz had hit 25 winners — 19 of them from his forehand side — compared to Medvedev’s 11 total winners, only one of which came in the second set. Alcaraz converted three of 10 break points and was broken just once by a Medvedev. Alcaraz outpointed his opponent 80-61.
“It’s a tough place to play tennis, balls flying a little bit, the serve doesn’t count as much and me, when the serve doesn’t count as much, I usually don’t play very well,” Medvedev said in his post-match news conference.
Respect 🤝@DaniilMedwed | @carlosalcaraz | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/wg0loMnV58
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 17, 2024
“So, I’m really, really happy with two weeks. Today, the first thing I asked myself in the locker room – not myself, my coach, I was like, I don’t feel I have any regrets. Do you have any regrets? He said, ‘Yeah, we can talk about one shot here and there, but in general the match was not bad. He’s playing good.’
“He managed in the first set at one moment to raise his level. I kind of managed to be there and to try to catch his level, but I was just a little bit down. In the end, this down was going down, down, down, and he was going up, up, up. So, the result is, how you say, not expected but is a fair result for the match that it was.
“But I’m happy. Last time I managed to do it I won Miami, so that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
The victory was the fifth in eight career meetings with Medvedev. It was also the fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and 13th tour-level crown overall for Alcaraz.
“As I said after every match, I was feeling better and better,” Alcaraz said. “I’m really, really happy to be able to win this tournament again.”
Pink (2023) or Blue (2024)? @carlosalcaraz | #TennisParadise | #IndianWells pic.twitter.com/vFxCWm2HOY
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 18, 2024
Indian Wells title is third of season for Koolhof and Mektic
Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Croatia’s Nikola Mektic won their third title of 2024 on Friday after being crowned champions of the BNP Paribas Open.
The Dutch/Croatian pair defeated fifth seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), in an hour and 51 minutes. They saved a set point on serve at 5-6 in the second set to avoid a match tie-break.
That winning duo 👏@wesleykoolhof | @NMektic | #TennisParadise | #IndianWells pic.twitter.com/8RKYSpbtRu
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2024
“It came down to the tie-break, where anybody can win,” Mektic said, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “We started both tie-breaks well with a mini break and maybe that was the reason as we were leading the whole tie-break. The score tells you what a high quality match it was.”
Koolhof added: “It means a lot because it’s one of the strongest Masters 1000 events because you have a lot of top singles players also playing. In last year’s final I lost 10-8 in the match tie-break, so I had some unfinished business to do here. We’re very happy to have won this one.”
Presenting your 2024 Indian Wells Doubles Champions…@wesleykoolhof @Nmektic 🙌#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/0W3Kr2uLwd
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 15, 2024
Koolhof, 34, and Mektic, 35, had already won titles in Auckland and Rotterdam, so the Indian Wells crown is their third since reforming their partnership following a three-year absence for what is going to be Koolhof’s last season on the Tour. The victory Friday improved their season record to 16-3.
“It’s been an incredible start to the season,” Koolhof said. “We’ve played six events and won three. So, if we can keep a 50 percent ratio we’ll be very happy.”
By the numbers
Carlos Alcaraz is the first man to defend his BNP Paribas Open title since Novak Djokovic won three consecutive Indian Wells titles from 2014-16. Alcaraz has won five ATP !asters 1000 titles before age 21, second only behind Rafael Nadal, who won nine.
“Quotable …”
“I don’t think so much about that. Look, I’ve been positive throughout this winning streaks, positive even now, because, you know, I lost in the semis of Indian Wells, which is still a great result.
“Now, the next tournament is Miami. So, I’m focused already for Miami. For sure it’s tough that it has to end like this here, because for me this is a really special place to play in.
“Yeah, but I feel grateful for what I’m doing.”
— Jannik Sinner on the significance of his 19-match winning streak that ended with his semifinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday evening. He began the 2024 season with a 16-0 win-loss record.
