Looking back on Alcaraz' Indian Wells win, and forward to the Miami Open

Carlos Alcaraz rounds out the season by beating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells Masters Finals, having won his eighth ATP singles titles and regaining the #1 ATP ranking.

The form he displayed throughout the tournament served to accentuate the question of whether there will be many that can compete at his skill level for the foreseeable future, as he won the masters without conceding a set. 

More impressively, perhaps, was that he pulled this off in the face of high-ranking talent. Past the round of 16, the Spaniard made fairly quick work of Felix Auger-Aliassime, who had won every encounter between the two up to that point; Jannik Sinner, who is considered to be among the hardest hitters in tennis today; and Daniil Medvedev, who was riding a 19-match winning streak coming into the final.

Though this kind of win is one that should garner celebration, Alcaraz needs to get to work if he wants to maintain is top-ranked spot and do so in impressive fashion if he is to create further separation between him and world #2, Novak Djokovic. 

The 19-year-old is to enter the Miami Open, where he will set out to accomplish a feat that only 10 players have in history: the Sunshine double. In doing this, he’d be joining a list of names that include Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Steffi Draf, as he pushes to strengthen his case as one of the greats.