After dropping out of the 500m in Acapulco due to the recurrence of the muscle problems he suffered at the start of the season, Carlos Alcaraz’s participation in Indian Wells was still in question. It was “Carlito” himself who cleared all clouds, stating that he was feeling good and had recovered to play his tennis in the first M1000 of the season. So Alcaraz in the press conference last night: “I’m feeling really good right now. Today was the first training session where I practiced with some players and played a few points. I feel great. I took a few days off and it was really good for me. I’m ready”.
Carlitos has landed in tennis paradise 🌴@carlosalcaraz & @FTiafoe hit the practice sites in Indian Wells#tennisparadise pic.twitter.com/IUGQUCS2Uk
– Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 8, 2023
Alcaraz will play in Indian Wells with an additional motivation: in case of victory, in 10 days he will be No. 1 in the ATP rankings again, overtaking Djokovic. “It’s a really big goal for me. Playing a Masters 1000 is always difficult and I really want to get a good result here. I love this tournament. To win and be number 1 again would be great, I really want to try.”
Carlos is already in the second round of the draw where he awaits the winner of the challenge between the qualified Kokkinakis and the wild card Holt. He feels good but doesn’t see himself as a favorite as he hasn’t played a tournament on this surface for a very long time: “On hard courts I think I’m a really good tennis player, so I’ll try, but I see myself not as a favorite to win the tournament because it’s been a long time since I played on hard court. There are many great players in the draw who have a chance to win the tournament. I have my chances to win the tournament and I’ll try to take them.”
Alcaraz is the top seed. On his way he could meet Murray, Draper, Hurkacz, Paul, Auger-Aliassime, possibly in the semifinals between Sinner and Rune. Medvedev, the player in the best form of the last few weeks, is instead from the bottom of the board so he could only face him in the final.
