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 has second major crown at last year’s Wimbledon until he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7/5), 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 told reporters.
‘’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 semi-finals in Buenos Aires and retiring from his first match in Rio de Janeiro with an ankle injury.
Swiatek sweeps past Sakkari:
World number one Iga Swiatek powered past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday to claim her second Indian Wells WTA title two years after she beat Sakkari for her first.
The rematch of the 2022 championship showdown produced an almost identical outcome, as four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek dominated the second set to seize her 19th career title and her second of 2024.
Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, battled gamely through the opening set, erasing a break and saving two break points in the final game before Swiatek delivered a blistering forehand winner to pocket the set after 44 minutes. It would take just 24 more minutes for the Polish star to wrap things up. She broke Sakkari at love for a 2-0 lead and rolled to the finish.
‘’I’m really proud of myself,’’ she said. ‘’Even though this tournament looked like, the scores, maybe I had everything under control, it wasn’t from the beginning to the end so easy.