After a bit of a hit and miss start to his 2024 and since Wimbledon in a way, Carlos Alcaraz was back in business in his Indian Wells title defence with a near flawless effort to ease past Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-3.
Alcaraz now reaches the Last 16 in Tennis Paradise and has claimed eight consecutive wins at the event. Coming into the tournament, he battled indifferent form and recent injury struggles. Not really being able to practice after an elbow injury what version of the Spaniard that fans got was up to chance.
His only match after pulling up at the Rio Open was against Rafael Nadal at the Netflix Slam and also his opener against Matteo Arnaldi. Next is Fabian Marozsan who famously dumped out Alcaraz in Rome last season. But today at least, Alcaraz saw it as a near perfect game.
“I put almost every return in & played the point. I felt like I’m better than him from the baseline, winning some good points on the court. I think I moved well, played aggressive with less mistakes. I think it was almost a perfect match from me," said Alcaraz post match.
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Carlos Alcaraz absolutely destroying a forehand against Aliassime.
103 MPH forehand. 🚀
When he's striking it well, it's one of the greatest weapons in tennis.