After a physical setback that has kept him off the slopes for the last week, Carlos Alcaraz is ready to compete in the tournament Indian Wells, the first Masters 1,000 of the season. The Spaniard, who could recover the number 1 in the world if he wins the title, had very positive feelings in a demanding training session with Tiafoe and assured that he was “prepared to play one hundred percent” on American soil.
«I feel very good, I have trained for two hours. My leg is going well and I have a lot of confidence in myself right now,” said the Spaniard, who, although he appeared at the appointment between cotton wool, seems to have left behind his right thigh injury that occurred at the end of February in the ATP final. 500 from Rio de Janeiro against Cameron Norrie.
“It has been very intense training, with great points, I have been able to slide and I have gone to ‘full’, without any pain,” recounted the 19-year-old tennis player from Murcia, who shared a training session with the local Frances Tiafoe. «I am prepared to play at my best level here. I have not felt pain and I have tried to reach impossible balls.
Without Djokovic and Nadal
The Californian tournament started this Wednesday with the loss of Novak Djokovic, number 1 in the world and absent for the third consecutive year due to his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and Rafael Nadal, injured last January at the Australian Open.
Alcaraz, who lost in the semifinals last year precisely against the Balearic Islands, aspires to regain the world tennis throne here, taking advantage of Djokovic’s loss, but for this he will have to lift the trophy in the final on March 20.
The main stumbling blocks will be the Russian Daniil Medvedev, another former number one, who will appear in the Coachella Valley brimming with confidence after dealing Djokovic his first defeat of the year in the semifinals in Dubai, a tournament that he later pocketed. And the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world number three, who wants to register his name for the first time in the list of winners of this prestigious tournament and remove the disappointment of his resounding defeat against Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open.
Nor should we forget the American Taylor Fritz, defending champion, and the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who are also contenders along with the Danish Holger Rune, another banner of the new generation, who at just 19 years old took his first bite of a Masters 1,000 on Last November in Paris.
Swiatek, favorite in the women’s draw
In the women’s draw at Indian Wells, the second WTA 1,000 category tournament of the year after Dubai, the Polish Iga Swiatek starts as a favorite to retain the title, an unprecedented achievement since Martina Navratilova’s successes in 1990 and 1991.
Swiatek, 21, rules the women’s ranking with an iron fist but at this start of the season she stumbled in January in Australia in the round of 16 against Elena Rybakina and then was surprised in the final in Dubai by Barbora Krejcikova.
The Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka will be one of the main threats to Swiatek’s plans.
The world number two is in great form after winning her first 13 games of the season and is relieved of pressure after seizing her long-awaited first major trophy in Australia.
Although she plummeted to 22nd place in the ranking, the Spanish Paula Badosa dreams of resurfacing in the Californian desert, where she lifted the trophy in 2021 in the greatest achievement of her career. Meanwhile, her compatriot Garbiñe Muguruza, winner of two Grand Slams and former world number one, will be dropped for personal reasons from a tournament that has other important contenders such as the Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula or the French Caroline Garcia.
