Indian Wells: Well, Alcaraz does it again

Indian Wells, March 18

Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Indian Wells crown with a 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday.

In a rematch of last year’s final, Alcaraz started sloppily, spraying errors around the court to fall 0-3 down but raised his level and captured the first set when his Russian opponent’s forehand went wide in the tiebreak.

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.”

Swiatek wins second title

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek dominated ninth seed Maria Sakkari to win the final 6-4 6-0 and claim the title for a second time.

In a rematch of the 2022 showpiece, Swiatek’s precise serving and speedy defence proved too much for her Greek opponent and the Pole reeled off the final eight games to close out a tournament where she never dropped a set. “I’m really proud of myself, I’m super happy,” she said. — Reuters