Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s number two, defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 to win his second Indian Wells ATP title, all at the expense of the Russian.
Alcaraz won his first victory since Wimbledon in July, becoming the first repeat winner at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic won three in a row from 2014-16. For the 20-year-old Spaniard, 12 days in the California desert were just what he needed after a shaky start to the season that included a quarterfinal defeat at the Australian Open and an ankle injury that forced him out of his first match in Rio in February.
As he did last year, Alcaraz turned down Medvedev’s bid to win the only one of the ATP’s six hardcourt Masters 1000 championships that he has yet to win.
More crucially, after ending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner’s 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz was optimistic about next week’s hardcourt competition in Miami and beyond.