Carlos Alcaraz is a champion again.
The 20-year-old Spaniard rounded off a renascent run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells by defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 to retain the title he won against the Russian world No 4 last year.
The victory ends an eight-month barren run for Alcaraz, who had not lifted a trophy since defeating Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon last July. That breakthrough was widely hailed as a changing of the guard, but Djokovic gained revenge with an epic win in Cincinnati the following month, and this was Alcaraz’s first final since. There have been plenty of setbacks in the interim. Medvedev ended Alcaraz’s reign as US Open champion, while Alexander Zverev inflicted a quarter-final loss at the Australian Open. There were unexpected defeats to Roman Safiullin in Paris and Nicolás Jarry in Buenos Aires, and an alarming ankle injury at last month’s Rio Open.
But Alcaraz has been back to his swashbuckling best in the California desert, avenging last year’s defeat to Fabian Maroszan in Rome, demolishing Zverev in straight sets, and ending Jannik Sinner’s 19-match winning streak in a heavyweight semi-final. Against Medvedev, he showcased the full range of his extensive repertoire, shrugging off a strangely passive start full of blocked forehands and one-handed sliced backhands to deliver a performance of spine-tingling power, athleticism and imagination.
“It means a lot to me, lifting this trophy, winning this tournament, because I overcame a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically,” said Alcaraz. “It was special for that, not [because] I didn’t win a tournament since Wimbledon. For me, it doesn’t matter.
“It’s about the feelings. For me, if I win tournaments or not, I don’t care. It’s about enjoying playing tennis, once I step on the court, putting my game. It’s what only matters. That’s why I’m really, really happy to lift this trophy, because I found myself at this tournament, and I felt really good.”
That much was clear from his delight following a wonderful moment of extempore brilliance in the ninth game of the match. After haring forward to retrieve a drop shot, Alcaraz was still scrambling to recover a central position as Medvedev responded with a deep lob volley. The Spaniard rose to meet the ball, but his heels clicked together, limiting his elevation, and the ball sailed over his head.
At that point, most players would have cut their losses. But Alcaraz, his feet a blur, turned and gave chase before manufacturing the most improbable of lobs. The speed and balance were sensational, but so too was the technical improvisation, the Spaniard contorting his wrist to strike the ball with the wrong side of the strings, the back of his hand facing upwards. Medvedev made the overhead and moved in again, but seconds later Alcaraz applied the coup de grâce with a measured forehand pass.
As he put a finger to his ear, drinking in the raucous acclaim from the 16,000 souls crammed into the world’s second biggest tennis stadium, a boyish grin broke across Alcaraz’s features. He has often said that smiling is the key to unlocking his best tennis, yet the habit has become less frequent in recent months. The joy has returned in Indian Wells, however, and with more title defences to come in the months ahead, that bodes well for Alcaraz, who was still beaming afterwards as he recalled the moment of impish virtuosity that defined his performance.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what happened,” said Alcaraz. “I was about to jump and smash it. Something happened to my feet that I couldn’t jump. When something like that happens, you have to put one more ball in and just run to the next one.
“That’s what I did. I put it in, it was a pretty good lob that Medvedev couldn’t smash in a good position. It gave me an opportunity to stay alive in the point.”
Medvedev threw his opponent a curveball in the early stages, earning an immediate break as he abandoned his usual deep return position to move closer to the baseline. Alcaraz too has been experimenting in this regard, retreating towards the backstop, and here too he initially stood deeper than normal. The role reversal made for a faintly bizarre spectacle but, as a first set of unrelenting intensity came to the boil, Alcaraz reverted to type, stepping inside the baseline, taking the initiative, forcing the play.
“He managed in the first set at one moment to raise his level,” said Medvedev. “I 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.
“Starting from the second set, he managed to play better and better, more passing shots. I don’t feel like I did something too wrong. So in my opinion, it was just that he managed to raise even more his level, and I got just a bit tired physically and mentally, and he managed to take advantage of it.”
The challenge now for Alcaraz will be to maintain that level at next week’s Miami Open and, beyond that, into the European clay-court swing, where he won titles in Barcelona and Madrid last year. After his fifth ATP 1000 success, however, he has every reason to look forward with confidence. The feelgood factor is back, records are tumbling again – only Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have a better win rate at this level – and, perhaps most importantly, the smile has returned.