‘It’s been difficult’: Alcaraz all smiles again after Indian Wells triumph

Carlos Alcaraz said his successful Indian Wells title defence was all the sweeter because he felt he had found himself in the California desert after a difficult few months.

The Spaniard, still only 20, had not won a title since clinching his second major crown at last year's Wimbledon until he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5) 6-1 on Sunday in a rematch of last year's final.

Alcaraz said the title drought had not bothered him but, struggling with injury, he felt he had lost his way a bit and was not enjoying being on court.

“It's difficult to put it into words, because I had really difficult months,” he said.

“Let's say the last two months it was difficult for me to find myself. I didn't enjoy stepping on the court. I wasn't myself on the court the last two months, three months, so it was difficult for me.

“It means a lot to me, lifting this trophy because I overcome a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically. It was so special for that.

“That's why I'm really, really happy to lift this trophy, because I found myself at this tournament, and I felt really, really good.”

Alcaraz started the year with a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open before being knocked out in the semifinals in Buenos Aires and retiring from his first match in Rio de Janeiro with an ankle injury.

“I was struggling to enjoy being on the court. My family, my team, people close to me were telling me that I was not smiling as much as I was doing before.”

Enjoying his tennis was important to Alcaraz, he said, and nothing was more likely to bring out his trademark grin than winning a point with the sort of “special shot” he produced to get past Jannik Sinner in the semis and Medvedev on Sunday.

“I always say that I'm playing better with a smile on my face.

“And points like this one, it doesn't matter if I win it or lose it, it puts a smile on my face any way.”

The world number two said he would take a valuable lesson in problem-solving away from Indian Wells along with the trophy and a cheque for $1.1m.

“It doesn't matter what problems you have. If you believe in yourself, you have a really good team around you, you work hard, everything can turn around.

“I think that's the biggest lesson that I take from this tournament.”

Alcaraz overcame a sluggish start and finished with a flourish to successfully defend his crown against Medvedev.

The Spaniard showed no ill effects from the ankle injury that forced him to withdraw from last month's Rio Open but said it was on his mind coming into the event.

In a rematch of last year's final, Alcaraz started spraying errors around the court to fall 3-0 down but raised his level to get back on serve and eventually force a tiebreak.

In the closely-fought breaker, Alcaraz pounded a forehand that his Russian opponent could not redirect safely in bounds to hand Alcaraz the first set.

The Spaniard romped through the second set, raising his arms in the air and letting out a roar when Medvedev missed another forehand wide on match point.

Second seed Alcaraz smacked 25 winners to Medvedev's 11 and was especially effective against his opponent's second serves.

“I enjoy playing these kind of matches with you,” Alcaraz told Medvedev during the trophy ceremony. “Hopefully more finals ahead.”

It was an eventful stay in the California desert for the 20-year-old Alcaraz.

The two-time major champion was stung on the forehead when a swarm of bees invaded the court on Thursday, kept his number two ranking by ending Sinner's 19-match winning streak in the semis and slayed the big-serving fourth seed Medvedev in the final. 

Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-0 in the women's final on Sunday to claim the title for a second time.

In a rematch of the 2022 final, world number one Swiatek came out firing, building a 3-0 lead before Sakkari worked her way back into the set for 4-4. But on her third set point, the Pole dragged Sakkari from one side of the court to the other before capturing the opener with a forehand winner.

Swiatek, who did not drop a set all tournament, dominated the second, crushing a running backhand for a 3-0 lead and then breaking serve for 4-0 as the outmatched Greek began to fade. A backhand winner down the line put Swiatek a game away and the top seed sealed the win by breaking serve to love when Sakkari's forehand sailed wide on match point.

Reuters