Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t about to be blown off course in his pursuit of a rare three-peat in the Indian Wells ATP Masters on Wednesday. The world number three from Spain practically revelled in the difficult winds gusting around Stadium Court as he dismantled Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
“I always say that I like playing with wind, with these conditions,” Alcaraz said. “I think I adapt really well my game to these conditions. I think to play with such a huge wind is to believe in your physical conditions and to believe that you’re going to reach every ball,” he added. “That’s what I thought in the match.”
Related news
The gusts had the ball kids chasing bits of litter and even changed the trajectories of some shots, leaving both players shaking their heads at times. But Alcaraz’s well-placed confidence helped him cruise past a player who had won their past two meetings — including a quarter-final battering at the Miami Open last year.
“I think Grigor plays more aggressively with less time, so I think that’s why I adapt much better in these conditions in today’s match,” Alcaraz said. “So I feel really well the ball, I think the position in every shot was really good. And that’s it.”
Alcaraz denied Dimitrov’s bid to join Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime as the only players to beat him in three consecutive meetings. With his 50th ATP Masters 1000 match win, he took another step in his bid to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three straight Indian Wells titles. He broke Dimitrov to open the match and broke him again to secure the first set.
He didn’t face a break point until the fifth game of the second set, but he worked his way out of that jam with an ace on Dimitrov’s third break chance, then broke the Bulgarian for a 5-1 lead. Alcaraz polished it off in style, giving himself a match point with his sixth ace of the match and sealing the win with a forehand winner.
He will play Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the semi-finals. Cerundolo beat Australian Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3. “I know his style,” Alcaraz said. “I’ve practiced a lot of times with him and I watch a lot of matches from him.”
© 2024 AFP
