- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Saturday, April 27, 2024
- Tennis Balls Favorite Photographer and Producer Rob Stone Premieres THE Blue Angels IMAX Film!
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Friday, April 26, 2024
- It’s a Girl! Belinda Bencic Welcomes Daughter to the World
- Nadal kicks off Mutua Madrid Open campaign with easy win over Blanch
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Novak Djokovic Earns 5th Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Rafael Nadal Commits to 2024 Laver Cup
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Monday, April 22, 2024
- Casper Ruud Tops Stefanos Tsitsipas for Barcelona Title
- Former World No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza Retires
- Fritz Flies Into First Clay-Court Final in Munich
- Munich Open Schedule and Draws for Sunday, April 21, 2024
Alcaraz defends Indian Wells title, Swiatek also wins for second time
- Updated: March 17, 2024
Heading into the BNP Paribas Open, Carlos Alcaraz was coming off a sprained ankle that forced him to retire from his first match at last month’s Rio Open. Moreover, the 20-year-old had not won a tournament since Wimbledon last summer and had not even advanced to a final since the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Nonetheless, a return trip to Tennis Paradise proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the 2023 Indian Wells champion.
Alcaraz successfully defended his title title by defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5), 6-1 on Sunday. The Spaniard survived a thrilling first set and then raced away with the second set to triumph after one hour and 42 minutes.
Medvedev, who was runner-up to Alcaraz last year in the desert, seized a quick 3-0 lead in the first set. However, the Russian won only four more games in the entire rest of the match.
“Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle,” Alcaraz explained. “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.
“I was not feeling well with my ankle, so (there were) a lot of doubts for me. But once I stepped on the court (in) the first round, I started to feel better.”
On the women’s side, there were never any doubts about Iga Swiatek. The world No. 1 was a sizable favorite before the fortnight even began and she had no trouble delivering. Swiatek capped off a dominant run to the trophy by beating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 earlier in the afternoon.
Like Alcaraz, Swiatek also captured a second title in Indian Wells.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.