When and who does Carlos Alcaraz play next at Indian Wells?

The start was not expected to be easy for Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells, against a good rival, Matteo Arnaldi, and with the responsibility of defending the title won last year. Also the need, due to the 1,000 points he achieved with that victory in the final against Daniil Medvedev. And he needs to reach, at least, the semifinals so that Jannik Sinner, who is ‘potentially’ ahead of him, does not take away his number two spot.

Perhaps that’s why he showed nerves in his debut, especially in the first set where he made 23 unforced errors and lost in a poor tiebreak. However, he executed a furious comeback, like a champion, to win with a 12-1 run: 6-7 (5), 6-0, and 6-1 in 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime next up for Alcaraz

On Sunday, surely much more relaxed, he will face in the third round a rival who gave him a hard time at the beginning of his career, Felix Auger-Aliassime, although now the Canadian, after a disastrous 2023, is in the process of recovering his best level. However, he still leads the 20-year-old Murcian by 3-1 in their head-to-head matches, although in their last encounter, precisely in the California desert on his way to absolute victory, Alcaraz emerged victorious.

Carlos has a record of 18-2 in his first matches in tournaments since the beginning of 2023. Only Hungarian Fabian Marozsan spoiled his debut (this Friday he defeated Jarry) last year in Rome. And a few days ago, he had to retire with the score tied at 1-1 against Thiago Monteiro in Rio de Janeiro. There, he twisted his right ankle, an ailment from which he seems to be fully recovered judging by how well he moved in the match against Arnaldi, a 23-year-old Italian ranked 40th in the world, whom he had already defeated at the 2023 US Open.

Alcaraz pushes towards top level

Those 13 excellent games, starting from the first set he lost, showed an exciting version of Alcaraz, especially with his forehand, the shots that caught his opponent off guard and exhausted him. “Order first and then, attack,” his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, commented before surrendering to the evidence of what his boy is capable of. “With this pace, you drown them.” And so it was, Arnaldi completely deflated and suffered a bagel that completely robbed him of faith in victory. Carlos needed it to take flight and relieve pressure. From now on, the road will be thorny and challenging, but he knows he can do it.