Masters 1000 Indian Wells – final –
There goes the magnificent Carlitos, once again trophy in hand and smiling, teeth and more teeth when he happily opens the mailbox and celebrates with rage because the prize had been resisted for eight months: California is at his feet, his name shining again in the history of Indian Wells, witness to a historic double that only seven tennis players previously signed. The last one, a certain Novak Djokovic. Yes, there are already two summits that the Murcian has made in the Coachella Valley, where it seems no time has passed because the closing is the same as a year ago: a tennis player ends up dazed. Opposite is Daniil Medvedev, who in the end lets himself go, overwhelmed in a dead end. He sees no option. Lying down again: 7-6(5) and 6-1, after 1h 42m. The Spaniard, who had not uncorked the champagne since last year’s hit at Wimbledon, summer and July then, is celebrating in style because recent times have not been entirely easy and the reward was elusive. Voices out there, doubts and also criticism. It was a mere matter of time.
Alcaraz demanded patience, explaining that the line was the good one and that sooner or later he would reap the fruit. Have faith, he asked. Don’t lose confidence. And in the background, noise, the happy social networks that, he says, do not make it easy for him because after all he is 20 years old. He could not succeed in Australia or in Buenos Aires, and then came the misfortune of Rio, not so long ago. There he damaged his right ankle, but he has recovered it at the same speed with which he covers the entire court, centimeter by centimeter, legs and more legs. Lord portent. Make way, make way! A cheetah circulates this Sunday through the Californian desert. And there is little (or rather nothing) that Medvedev can do, since last year his resolution was shaken and this time he resists as long as it takes for the Spaniard to shake off those nerves with which he has jumped onto the court and find the necessary tone. . That is, just three games. No trench warfare; He fell into the trap in New York, so he recovers the formula of gaining meters and biting. It culminates in the form of a monologue.
In this outcome, the Californian stands witness a duel divided absolutely in two: that first strange section, in which the Russian acquires an income that ends up being fictitious, because it is nothing more than the concession (3-0) that the champion makes until which lands in the final, and the subsequent recital. There is no color. Thus, playing in such an energetic, enjoyable and hierarchical way, stopping Alcaraz is nothing short of a feat. Medvedev knows this, as he reluctantly accepts the reality of the day and ends up getting angry with the public, the result of impotence. The one in Moscow is dismantled. Without a serve, his options are null. A resignation occurs. “I hope one day you let me win here…” he jokes, because behind those bad tempers there is a commendable competitor. “I know how I have to play,” the Murcian warned the day before. And he executes it perfectly. 23 winners — 12 more than his opponent — and his excellent performance lead him to his fifth Masters 1000 title, one more than his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero; It is also the figure that only he and Rafael Nadal (9) have managed to reach before turning 21. Alcaraz was eager, upset because from the outside he is required that exceptionalism become the norm, and he remembered these days of the difficulty.
“They have been difficult months for me. My confidence went down a little. Sometimes it’s hard for me to be myself. I’m a guy who watches his phone a lot. [las redes] and it is difficult to deal with some comments,” he admitted after beating Fabian Marozsan. “They have been quite intense weeks. Before starting the tournament I had many doubts, because he had to recover his ankle and we had to work a lot; The first workout was 30 minutes without moving. We didn’t know if we were going to be able to play, even at an optimal level. Winning this tournament means a lot to me. “I am happy to have overcome the problems,” he conveys in his coronation speech, with 13 awards already in the elite – the same as Nicolás Almagro, one below Alberto Berasategui and Sergi Bruguera – and already becoming one of the distinguished Indian Wells. From the nineties onwards, only Pete Sampras (1994-95), Michael Chang (1996-97), Lleyton Hewitt (2002-03), Roger Federer (2004-06) and Djokovic (2014-16) managed to defend the fortress. Now he too, open wings again. Heading now to Miami.
There is much that is liberating in the howl of the rubric. A route full of traps has been added to the condition of the injury. The same thing was cornered by the bees that he had to deal with the rain delay in the semi-finals. And above all, having lost the compass of his tennis at times. “It is difficult to express it in words, because I have gone through some very difficult months. Let’s say that in the last two it has been difficult for me to find myself. I didn’t enjoy it on the court, I wasn’t myself, but I have overcome all the problems. That’s why this means a lot to me. It has been very special for that, not because I haven’t won anything since Wimbledon. I do not care about that. It’s about feelings, not about winning or not. It’s about enjoying,” says the young man from El Palmar, recovered at a key moment of the year, before the start of the clay court tour – on April 7, in Monte Carlo – and the subsequent challenges in London and the Olympic Games. from Paris.
“After Wimbledon it was a difficult period. I couldn’t find my style, my game, but I still enjoyed the American tour [Montreal, Cincinnati y US Open]. In Beijing and Shanghai I did quite well; I didn’t play well, but I was enjoying it. My family, my team and people close to me asked me what was wrong with me, because I wasn’t smiling as much on the court anymore. It was difficult for me to enjoy it,” admits Alcaraz, who in the last week and a half has passed all the exams: the physical, the tennis and, above all, the emotional. He retaliated against Auger-Aliassime – superior in the general face-to-face -, Fabian Marozsan – his executioner in Rome last year – and Alexander Zverev – this year in Melbourne -; He has also surrendered the formidable Jannik Sinner, who had 19 consecutive wins and had not lost since November; He has once again overcome Medvedev, almost always a headache; and the best news is in that renewed confidence. He waves the flag of success again: “If you believe in yourself, have a very good team around you and work hard, you can achieve anything. That is the most valuable lesson I take away from here.”
ANOTHER WALK FROM THE POWERFUL SWIATEK
A. C.
Iga Swiatek also found no resistance in the final, resolved in just 68 minutes 6-4 and 6-0 against the Greek Maria Sakkari. A result very similar to the one recorded two years ago between the two and that, in parallel, reinforces the hegemony of the number one. She was also champion in Doha, a month ago, she continues to set the pace and leads the wins section (20) this year.
With their second trophy in the Californian desert, the Warsaw team has a total of 19. They have only lost four finals. This is her eighth WTA 1000 – the second most important category after the Grand Slams – and it comes after another ride, without discussion. Only Caroline Wozniacki, who had to come back from 4-1 down, managed to tickle her.
Swiatek achieves success again without giving up a single set and having given up 21 games, in a track surpassed only by Monica Seles – 12 in the 1992 edition – and Steffi Graf – 16 in 1994 -. Precisely, this latest victory gives her a winning average in Indian Wells of 90%, slightly higher than the record held until now by the German (89.5%).
Despite not having been able to conquer Australia, the Pole continues to rule the circuit without cracks. In fact, since the departure of Serena Williams there has not been a player so dominant. She is strong with the strong — she accumulates 10 consecutive victories against rivals from the top-10—, leads her pursuer, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, by more than 2,500 points.