CARLOS ALCARAZ WINS INDIAN WELLS TITLE RETURNS ATOP ATP RANKING

Carlos Alcaraz ended Daniil Medvedev’s unbeaten streak to complete a dominant run to his maiden BNP Paribas Open titles on Sunday.

The match perhaps his most one sided victory of the tournament, a 6-3 6-2 was evidence of his superb form without losing a set in six Indian Wells. The triumph returns him to World No. 1 in Monday’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Daniil Medvedev had stepped into the court in the final with high flying performance having won 19 match unbeaten and three tournament winning streak. But he was stunned by the 19 year old as he met the superior power aggressive game plan which was executed with a run of shots and the rewarding impact was immediate break in both sets.

In the opening set, he quickly raced to a 3-0 lead, obviously he brought out his arsenal of winning shots against Medvedev, his forehands, backhands and drop shots were magnificent. In the stands of the Tennis Garden, there was silence. The Spaniard’s drive of phenomenal performance sincerely deserved full attention.

He went on to win the first 10 points of the second on the way to a 4-0 advantage. Daniil couldn’t contain the 19 year-old as the Spaniard continued to teach his discipline of masterly from the sideline. He most times regularly found success with his drop shot time and advantage of his opponent’s deep court position.

Alcarac sealed his victory over the wobbling Daniil without facing a break point to re-establish himself at the pinnacle of the men’s game. That will return him atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

With the win, Alcaraz becomes the youngest player to top the chats, also the youngest player to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles, the first two Masters 1000 titles on the calendar. Also his six match at the Indian Wells without losing a set goes on record since Roger Federer in 2017 and first to do so in the six matches since Nadal in 2007.

The victory improves him to 8-3 in tour level finals, including 3-0 at ATP Masters 1000, and 14-9 overall against Top 10 opponents.

Meanwhile, some pundits perceive he could complete the calendar- year Sunshine Double by defending his Miami title over the course of the next two weeks to by following the hallmark of his countryman, Nadal’s record of six titles before turning 20.