INDIAN WELLS – Before the final Alcaraz – Medvedev: Indian Wells could not have dreamed of better

Of course, Novak Djokovic will have missed. Winner of the Australian Open, world number one at least for a few more hours and, whatever happens, the main reference on the circuit until proven otherwise, the Serb would have been the main favorite for the first Masters 1000 of the season. But in his absence, which is neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Daniil Medvedev, the final poster between the Spaniard and the Russian is a godsend. The semi-finals were already looking good. The finish is ideal. Indian Wells couldn’t have asked for more.

Firstly because they are the two hottest players at the moment. Since returning from injury last month, Alcaraz have won 13 of their 14 matches, with three consecutive finals in their first three tournaments, in Buenos Aires (title), Rio de Janeiro (final) and Indian Wells (title or final). We very quickly found the real Carlos Alcaraz, the one who had surged throughout last season, before his body said stop in the fall. In California, he impressed by not losing a single round, including against his new generation dolphins, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner.

Number one or number one?

Since the end of the Australian Open, only one player in the world has done better than Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protege and he will be on the other side of the net on Sunday evening. Daniil Medvedev, dying in 2022, and thrown out of Melbourne in the round of 16 in January, came out of his box with a vigor that was no longer expected. Or not so soon. Titled in Rotterdam, Doha then Dubai, here he is in the final at Indian Wells, the hard court tournament he likes the least and in which he was convinced that the playing conditions would never allow him to succeed in anything. either. And yet.

The winner of the US Open 2021 has won his last 19 matches, a stone’s throw from his personal best, established between the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. The real Daniil Medvedev is back, hellish to play, impossible to outflank, against whom you have to win four or five times a point to be sure to put it on the scoreboard. Here he is carried by a wave of confidence unprecedented for him for a year and a half. As such, his victory over Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in Dubai may have had even more powerful virtues than all the trophies raised in recent weeks.

In short, this poster is a dream final, given the circumstances and absences. It will have, whatever happens, an important mathematical consequence. If he wins, Carlos Alcaraz will become world number one again, just a few weeks after giving way to Djokovic. Yes, he benefits from the absence of the “Djoker”, but after all, the reverse has been true in Australia. Let’s be clear, as mentioned above, the Serb remains, whatever happens here, the “real” boss of men’s tennis. But, with a Grand Slam and three Masters 1000 under the elbow over the last 52 weeks, his legitimacy would be real.

Believe it or not, but Daniil Medvedev can also settle in the first place. Not that of the reference classification, but in the Race, i.e. on the results of the single year 2023. A fourth consecutive title would install it in perfect equality with Djokovic with 2430 points. Medvedev at the helm of Race in mid-March, you should have seen him coming when he left Australia crestfallen after his defeat against Sebastian Korda in the round of 16.

But the main thing is the game, not the numbers. In view of their recent service record, there is enough to salivate. Is there only one favourite? Saturday evening, the two suitors returned politeness and compliments. “I want to play against the best players in the world. Because to be the best, you have to beat the best. And I believe Daniil is the best right now. We will have to play at a very high level, thinking that it will be war“, launched the Murcian.

Medvedev, he is like everyone else in front of Alcaraz: amazed. “Carlos is amazinghe said. He has incredible skills. It’s hard to compare him to anyone… Maybe ‘Rafa’, but ‘Rafa’ is left-handed… When he hits his forehand, it’s very impressive. I don’t think anyone can hit that hard and with that much topspin. That’s why he was number one in the world“. And that he can become one again on Monday. But Medvedev has another idea in mind.