Carlos Alcaraz claims ‘crazy’ Indian Wells triumph with victory over Daniil Medvedev, returns to world No. 1

Carlos Alcaraz was left to bask in his “crazy” and “amazing” Indian Wells triumph after a stunning victory over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday as he returned to world No. 1.

The 19-year-old never allowed Medvedev, who had been playing extremely effectively at the event often referred to as the ‘fifth major’, to settle in the match and always seemed to have the edge as he conceded just five games in the entire match – which lasted just one hour and 10 minutes – en route to a resounding victory.

Alcaraz struck an inspired 18 winners while his opponent could only muster five against his sterling defence. The triumph has seen him emulate his legendary compatriot, Rafael Nadal, in being the only two men’s players to have racked up three Masters 1000 crowns as a teenager.

“It means a lot to me,” Alcaraz said after the match. “To recover the No. 1 [ranking] is crazy for me.

“Especially to lift the trophy here, for me, means a lot… I love this tournament. I really enjoy my time here, and of course, I felt the love from the people from day one. For me, it’s amazing to complete these 10 days like this.

“It feels amazing to lift the trophy here. I would say this has been the perfect tournament. It was good for me, [at] this tournament that I really wanted to win, and for me, it’s amazing.

“Of course, winning a tournament, it gives you a lot of confidence,” he continued, looking ahead to the next instalment of the ‘Sunshine Swing’ at the Miami Open.

“I’m playing great. Of course, today, the conditions today were pretty tough. Of course, Daniil didn’t play at his best, obviously.

“All I can say is, I’m really happy with my performance, the way that I [was] playing at this tournament. I’m looking forward to playing this level in Miami as well.”

“I had a pretty toxic relationship here with the courts, a love-hate relationship,” Medvedev said with a big smile. “So I’d like to thank the court!

“I only played on this court. I gave it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also. Rolled the ankle, the thumb… but it gave me the chance to finish the tournament. Thanks a lot to this court, I’ll definitely be back.

“I really love this tournament, I’ll be happy to come back many more years to come and hopefully I can start to love this court and Indian Wells together.

“Sorry I didn’t make this final entertaining. I tried, I don’t like to lose, but today was unfortunately pretty easy. I hope you still enjoyed it.”

For Medvedev, this crushing defeat has brought an abrupt end to his 19-match and three-tournament winning streak; for Alcaraz, this could be just another step in finding his very top level ahead of the French Open – certainly an alarming prospect for his rivals.

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