Carlos Alcaraz shone in his first two matches at the Indian Wells Masters 1000, confirming that he has a very special feeling with this tournament despite the organizers' decision to change surface after 25 years.
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The former world number 1 - who had initially expressed several doubts about this choice - then admitted that he would not have noticed this change at all if they had not told him. The courts are still very slow, perhaps even slower than in the past, and the bounces have remained extremely high.
The 4-time Grand Slam champion who hopes to lift his third trophy in a row in California left the crumbs to Quentin Halys and Denis Shapovalov, avoiding those ups and downs that have conditioned him even in this start of the 2025 season.
Alcaraz wants revenge
His opponent in the round of 16 will be Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated French veteran Gael Monfils at the end of the most spectacular match of the tournament (at least so far).
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Carlitos had always dominated Grisha at the beginning of their rivalry, but that changed in the latter part of 2023.
The Bulgarian ace who did not start the new season brilliantly also due to some injuries defeated the Spaniard at both the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters and the 2024 Miami Open.
In particular, his performance in Florida last year had left the star from Murcia speechless.
"He played really incredible tennis in Miami last year," the current world No. 3 recalled during his last press conference in Indian Wells.
"I hadn't found any solution during that match, he felt in full control and had prevailed quite easily.
It had made me feel like a 13-year-old boy.
I told my team that they had no idea what to do, it seemed to me that they had no weaknesses" he added.
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Alcaraz will be able to play this match in one of his favorite tournaments, in which he has prevailed in the last two editions playing almost perfect tennis.
