Carlos Alcaraz got his Indian Wells title defence off to a flying start with a 6-4, 6-2 win against France’s Quentin Halys.
Alcaraz has won the last two editions of the Indian Wells tournament, but he expressed his surprise that a new surface had been laid for this year’s event.
Despite those doubts, Alcaraz showed no signs of nerves or uncertainty as he blasted his way through to the third round and backed up his status as the favourite to win once again in the Californian desert.
“I feel at home,” he said after his 13th straight win in Indian Wells.
“I feel really calm off court. That’s important to show good tennis on the court. The conditions and the court are good for me. I love it here. The fans have always been good to me. I appreciate that love and support.
“I was really nervous, it wasn’t easy to control the emotions. I had to be focused to calm down, to take control of the nerves and try and play good tennis. I think it did pretty well. I’m really happy to get through and start the title defence.”
When asked whether the conditions this year are different than they were a year ago, he added: “It’s slow. It bounces a lot. Off the court is also really important for me.”
With top seed Alexander Zverev crashing out in his first match at Indian Wells on Friday, the chance is there for Alcaraz to claim another Indian Wells title and this performance was a statement of intent as he set up a third round clash against a resurgent Denis Shapovalov.
Alcaraz saved the only break point he faced against Halys, who arrived in Indian Wells on the back of the best performance of his career as he reached the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai last week.
Yet Halys has no answer to Alcaraz’s pace and power and the win ensured he notched his 30th win in the ‘Sunshine Double’ tournaments that are staged in Indian Wells and Miami each March.
With four Grand Slam titles already in his collection, it is hard to find too many holes in his game, but former USA Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe has told Tennis365 that Alcaraz could have even more success if he adds a layer of consistency to his game.
“Alcaraz is electric and he is electrifying when he gets on a court and the only issue would be that he has, at times, hit his way out of a match by going for too much,” McEnroe told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.
“He is so fun to watch because he can hit every shot, but that talent can hurt him when he is not having his best day.
“We have seen it a few times and last year’s US Open comes to mind as being a moment when he didn’t have answers when he was not hitting the winners he expects.
“That was the case against Djokovic at the Australian Open as well. He was clearly unnerved by Djokovic appearing to be injured and then getting back up and playing at such a high level again by the end.
“So he may need to reel it in sometimes because we can all see what he is capable of and he has shown that by winning four Grand Slams at the age of 21.
“If he does reel it in, then he might become more effective and consistent, but he may not be as much fun to watch. We all like to watch him and let’s not forget what he has already achieved.
“He has won four majors on all the different surfaces in tennis so I would not want to nitpick his game too much.”
