"Didn’t enjoy stepping on the court, I wasn’t myself": Carlos Alcaraz Indian Wells win helped conquer tennis demons

Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he hadn't been enjoying being on the court in the months leading up to his Indian Wells title, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5), 6-1. The Spaniard didn't arrive in a good moment at Tennis Paradise, having exited in the semifinals of the Argentina Open at the hands of Nicolas Jarry and then retiring at the Rio Open after playing just two games against Thiago Monteiro.

However, Alcaraz felt good in California. He completed 12 consecutive wins in the tournament and successfully defended his title, a feat last achieved by Novak Djokovic between 2014 and 2016. Additionally, the young star won his 5th Masters 1000 title, with only one other player achieving that feat before turning 21: Rafael Nadal, who collected 9 Masters titles.

In the post-match press conference, Alcaraz expressed his joy at winning the title, especially after some irregular months:

“If you believe in yourself, you have a really good team around, you work hard, everything can turn around. I think that’s the most important lesson that I take from this tournament.” He said during his press conference. 

“The last two months were difficult for me to find myself. I didn’t enjoy stepping on the court. I wasn’t myself on the court the last two months, three months, so it was difficult for me,” Alcaraz said. It means a lot to me winning this tournament because I overcame a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically,” he added.

“For me, if I win tournaments or not, I don’t care. It’s about enjoying playing tennis, once I step on the court, putting my game. It’s what only matters. That’s why I’m really happy to lift this trophy because I found myself at this tournament, and I felt good,” the world No. 2 concluded.