Carlos Alcaraz returns to a Masters 1000 final. This time it will be in Indian Wells against Daniil Medvedev. It is the third time that ‘Carlitos’ is in the last round of a tournament of this entity. In the previous two, Miami and Madrid, the result was positive for the man from El Palmar, who hopes to repeat the feat, climb to number 1 in the ATP ‘ranking’ and become the fourth Spaniard to achieve this trophy after José Higuera, Álex Corretja and Rafael Nadal.
To lift the trophy, first, he will have to beat Medvedev. The Russian has a great 2023 with a record of 24 wins and 2 losses. He began the year eliminated in the semifinals of the Adelaide tournament by Novak Djokovic and the Australian Open in the round of 32 against Sebastian Korda. From there, he knows no defeat. He has 19 wins and three titles on the ATP 500 tracks in Rotterdam and Dubai and at the ATP 250 in Doha. Currently, he is number 6 in the ranking, but ‘Charlie’ will have a former number 1 ahead of him.
For Daniil it will be the seventh final of a Masters 1000. He won 4 of the 6 previously held for his showcase (Cincinnati 2019, Shanghai 2019, Paris 2020 and Canada 2021). He has only been defeated by Rafa Nadal in Canada 2019 and by Novak Djokovic in Paris 2021.
It will be the second duel between the Spanish and the Russian. Medvedev won the match at Wimbledon 2021 against a precocious Alcaraz who was entering the final rounds of a Grand Slam for the first time. Daniil had no mercy with ‘Carlitos’ (6-4, 6-1 and 6-2). «If I’m not mistaken, when I played against him he was number two in the world. I was just starting out so he was not an experienced player. For me, it was a strange match. Right now it’s totally different. I am a more experienced guy or at least I have more experience than in that match. I know how to play against him. I also trained with him several times, so it’s not something new for me at the moment. It’s going to be, I think, a totally different game”, declares Carlos.
Path of the two tennis players to the final
‘Charlie’ has left Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tallon Griekspoor, Jack Draper, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner along the way. He has not lost a set in the entire tournament, showing that he is in great shape. When he had difficulties, he managed to pull himself together and move the situation forward.
Daniil Medvedev, for his part, has eliminated Brandon Nakashima, Ilya Ivashka, Alexander Zverez, Alejandro Davidovich and Frances Tiafoe. Having a tough confrontation with Sascha, in which he had to come back from the set against the German. He now knows that he has a tough nut to crack in front of him. “He’s amazing, he has amazing abilities that are hard to compare to others. Maybe with Rafa, but it’s complicated because Rafa is left-handed. It’s amazing to see how he hits with his right hand. That is why he is number one in the world, the youngest in history. That means something. It will be fun to face him,” says Medvedev.
Match schedule between Alcaraz and Medvedev
Carlos Alcaraz will not take to the court for the final against Medvedev before 0:00 in the morning from Sunday to Monday, March 20.
Schedule of the match between Alcaraz and Draper
The grand final between the Spanish and the Russian at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 can be seen live on Movistar+ or the Tennis TV online platform.
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