(Reuters) – Top seed Carlos Alcaraz snapped Daniil Medvedev’s 19-match win streak with a 6-3 6-2 rout in the Indian Wells final on Sunday that will see him leapfrog Novak Djokovic and return to world number one in the rankings.
Alcaraz enjoyed a dream start to the matchup of first-time Indian Wells finalists as he got an early break for a 2-0 lead and dropped just six points on serve as he raced through the opening set in 36 minutes.
Russian fifth seed Medvedev, who was looking to add another title to the ones he collected in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai over the last month, was unable to stop the bleeding and had no answer for the Spaniard’s brilliance the rest of the way.
Alcaraz broke to love in the first game of the second set and held at love for a 2-0 lead as a resigned Medvedev dropped 10 consecutive points dating back to the first frame.
The hard-hitting Spaniard kept dragging Medvedev from corner to corner and consolidated another break for a commanding 4-0 lead while barely breaking a sweat as he closed out a seemingly stress-free victory in 70 minutes without facing a break point.
The victory marked the third ATP Masters 1000 trophy for 19-year-old Alcaraz, who became the youngest world number one last September when he won the U.S. Open and held that spot for 20 weeks until Djokovic reclaimed it in January.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese)
