LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 on Sunday to win his second-straight BNP Paribas Open title at Indian Wells, reported PA Media.
The world number two took only one hour and 42 minutes to claim victory, marking Alcaraz’s first title since his triumph at Wimbledon last year.
The 20-year-old Spaniard began the Indian Wells tournament with a 6-3 record on the season and an injured ankle, which he sustained during his latest outing in Rio de Janeiro.
Medvedev started strong in the match’s opening rounds, establishing a 3-0 lead as Alcaraz’s errors began to pile up.
It did not take long for Alcaraz to find his feet though, breaking back before matching the world number four to force a tie-break.
He almost let an early lead in the tie-break slip by, but recovered again to take the first set in just over an hour.
Once he had broken out in front, the world number two was barely troubled in the second set en route to retaining his Indian Wells title.
He told reporters on-court after the match that the win had bolstered his confidence following his Rio injury scare.
“Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle,“ Alcaraz said.
“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.”
He added: “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.” – Bernama, PA Media/ dpa
