Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking. (More Tennis News)
The🌠 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic. The Serb withdrew f🎶rom Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvaccinated for COVID-19.
“For 😼me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of s🐎uch great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”
“I would say this has been the perfect tourna✃ment,” he saidꦇ.
In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player jus🌱t her second loss this year.
Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP ♏history after his t♒itle at the U.S. Open.
He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells. That’s when Alcaraz notched his 100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so. Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a se💯t since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title i🍸n the desert.
“I really t🦩rust in every shot that I hit,” he said. “Iඣf I miss, I don’t mind.”
Alca🦂raz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance with a steady array of serve-and-volley and drꦉop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.
“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the꧂ pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playꦿing relaxed.”
Medvedev’s 19-match winning s💮treak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in Fe🌟bruary. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titl🗹es🐷 in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.”
Alcaraz and Rybak♛ina earned $1,262,220 each for th🅺eir wins.
Rybakina carriedᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.
For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybak🌞ina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.
This time, the 10th-seeded Rybaki🏅na had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed☂ 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.
“I would say that I was super disappointed wit⛎h my serve, so I was back to old habits,” she said. “I was like a little bit overreacting on things, and I wasn’t there in the first two games in the second set.”
Rybakina broke for leads ofꦛ 2-0 and 5-2 in the second set before Sabalenka closed to 5-4. But Rybakina served out the victory in just over two hours.
“This ♛tiebreak was really🙈 epic, I would say, with all these double faults and nerves,” Rybakina said. “In the end, it was just focusing on every point and try to fight till the end.”
Rybakina i⭕mproved her match record to 16-4 ꧒this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.
“This tough loss will motivate me more because I don’t like to lose in the finꩵals,” Sabalenka said. “This is the worst.”
During the victory ceremꦍony, Rybakina, the current Wimbledon champion, told the crowd it was the first time 🤪she’d beaten Sabalenka.
Sabalenka stepped forward, took the mic and said, “I will make s🌞ure it was the last one.”
Then she smiled.
