Only a triumph at the Indian Wells tournament separated Carlos Alcaraz from world number one. The Spaniard got his way by beating an unrecognizable Daniil Medevev in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night.
On the one hand, the aspirant to the first rank of the world ranking and best player of his generation. On the other, the best player in 2023 and the holder of a streak of 19 consecutive victories. Everything was in place for a great game. The best possible final, some said, legitimately.
However, this match was one-sided in favor of the Spaniard. So much so that it darkened the evening after a constant battle in the women’s final.
Medvedev was broken in his first service game. It was the prelude to a catastrophic final for the Russian.
Alcaraz had fun as if his opponent was a sparring partner. He played with finesse and all his balls ended up kissing the lines if he wanted to.
Each bullet fell like the torture of the drop of water for Medvedev. Overwhelmed, dominated and irregular.
The 19-year-old dominated in all facets of the game, on an extremely slow surface, to his advantage as a clay-court specialist. This is his eighth career title, but above all he takes back the top of the world rankings. “It’s special to do it here, because I love this tournament,” said the champion after the game.
Carlito’s world
Between his first serve of the tournament and the moment he lifted the crystal trophy, Alcaraz did not lose a set. And yet, he faced highly skilled opponents in his path. He got rid of Jack Draper, Felix Auger-Aliassime (8), Jannik Sinner (11) and Medvedev (5) easily.
That’s how comfortable King Carlos is on his throne. The Indian Wells tournament was only the third played this season by Alcaraz, bothered by an injury at the start of the calendar. He won in Argentina, he lost in the final in Brazil and next week he will try to defend his title in Miami.
It gives me a lot of confidence. I play well. It was tough today even though Daniil was not in top form.
Carlos Alcaraz
If some were curious to see how he would react to his first hard court tournament in 2023, there is reason to be optimistic in view of this crushing victory against Medvedev. Even if the sixth racquet in the world was clearly not on his plate, the quickdraw and agility of Alcaraz are beyond doubt. As in his match against Auger-Aliassime, the Spaniard was aggressive and stealthy in his net moves. His arsenal of blows is impressive and he made Medvedev pay the price. His amortizations, his brush effects and his sequences had the Russian worn out.
He converted all three of his break points, in addition to passing 80% of his first serves and winning almost twice as many points as his rival in service returns. Alcaraz was alone on the California field.
“You push me to be better every time I face you,” said Alcaraz to the microphone in the direction of the finalist.
Medvedev smiles despite everything
Medvedev was the first to be disappointed with his performance. “To everyone on my team and my family watching me on TV, I will try to be better next time. […] I do not like losing. Believe me, I don’t like to lose, but today was pretty easy. »
PHOTO MARK J. TERRILL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Daniel Medvedev
Which is pretty amazing, given his play over the past few weeks. He had just won the tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai and Doha in quick succession.
His service performance was horrendous, including 53% of the points won on the first serve. Even in reception, he had the advantage only 12 times. Besides, his strategy of waiting for the Alcaraz missiles with his back to the back wall was undoubtedly a weakness. It is Medvedev’s habit to wait relatively far from the baseline, but on a slow surface, against a fast server, waiting too far was a shortcoming. Alcaraz understood this and he hammered his opponent with outgoing balls and unreachable serve-volley sequences.
Powerless in the face of the threat, Medvedev praised the brilliance and personality of the young world number one. “You’re probably the most respectful player on the circuit,” he said. You always smile, you greet about 300 people a day. »
Medvedev has shown his displeasure more than anyone in recent days with the surface, softer and slower than usual. Many times he mentioned the fact that this kind of surface increased the chances of injury.
On Sunday, he learned the hard way that the gods of tennis are always listening: “I have a love-hate relationship with the court here. So I would like to thank the field, he said, making the spectators laugh. I made him look bad, so it was his turn to make me look bad today. At least he gave me the chance to finish the tournament! »