"That’s my call": John Isner identifies 'overwhelming favorite' to win Indian Wells this year

Former American player John Isner believes that Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is an ‘overwhelming’ favourite to lift the Indian Wells tournament this year. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

Former American player Isner has recently appeared on the Nothing Major podcast with the former world number 21, Steve Johnson. The 35-year-old was of the opinion that for the first time in a long time, there is no clear favourite to lift the title this year. “For the first time in a long time, I think there’s 20-30 guys who could conceivably win this tournament which is kind of outlandish to think over the last 15-20 years that the number could be that high,” he said.

In response to that, Isner not only disagreed with Johnson’s comments but was also of the opinion that Spain’s Alcaraz is a clear favourite to lift the title this year. “I completely disagree with all of you guys, I think [Carlos] Alcaraz is the overwhelming favorite to win this event,” he said. “He’s won the tournament in back to back years, the surface of the tournament used to be on favors him considerably, I hear there’s a bit of a surface change this year. I think Alcaraz is the overwhelming favorite, he seems to be so comfortable there, he was so dominant last year. Again, the surface has changed, maybe he’s not as big of a favorite as he would’ve been on the old surface, but I think he’s the number one guy to beat and I think he’s going to win the tournament again. That’s my call.”

The young Spaniard has a fabulous record while playing at the competition, where he has lifted the title two times in 2023 and 2024. Interestingly, on both occasions, he defeated one-time Grand Slam winner Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final in straight sets.