Carlos Alcaraz isn’t thinking about the prospect of joining an elite club if he wins another title in Indian Wells this year.
The Spanish world No.3 is currently on a 12-match winning streak at the tournament after lifting the trophy two years in a row. Out of those 12 matches played, he has dropped only two sets. Should he triumph in the desert once again this year, he will become the third man to have won Indian Wells three years in a row. Following in the footsteps of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who he could play in the quarter-finals.
“I will try not to think about it. I will try to enjoy it (the tournament),” Alcaraz commented during his press conference on Tuesday.
“Because this tournament, every time that I come here, I enjoy practicing and playing.
“Everything for me here is so easy. So all I’m thinking is to enjoy this tournament. I’ve been waiting the whole year just to come back here.
“So I will try not to think about it. But it is something that for me would be great to achieve.”
One change in this year’s event is the surface. Indian Wells has signed a new deal with Laykold after previously working alongside Plexipave for more than two decades. Laykold is also the surface provider for other high-profile events, including the US Open. They will provide what is described as a ‘cutting-edge and high-performance’ surface.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz is confident he will be able to quickly adapt to the new conditions which might include the ball travelling faster than previous years at the tournament. However, other players have reported the opposite with Daniil Medvedev telling reporters that he feels the courts are ‘slower than before.’
“I think I consider myself a player who adapts his game very well on the surfaces and all the conditions that you’re playing on.” Said Alcaraz.
“I think I play great tennis anyway, even though the courts are a bit faster. But all I can say is I didn’t understand (when they made the change) when I saw it.”
Indian Wells will be Alcaraz’s fourth tournament of the year. So far this season, he has won one title in Rotterdam, as well as making it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and Doha Open.
In recent weeks, the Spaniard has been making adjustments to his serve to be more accurate in his game.
“I’m still on it, I’m still practicing, I am still improving,” he said of his new service motion. “I’m feeling great. I’m feeling like an upgrade on the serve. So just to keep believing on the movement, on the serve, because I know that there is going to be a great serve.
“My second serve, I trust a lot. My second serve I think is a really good and solid one. The first serve could be better.”
“Right now, I’m feeling great. I’m really happy about everything I’m doing with the serve, so I’m close to being a serve-bot, I guess,” he added with a laugh.
Alcaraz will begin his Indian Wells campaign against either Quentin Halys or Pablo Carreno Busta.
