Not yet satisfied, Alcaraz seeking rhythm following opening win in Indian Wells

Satisfied but hungry for more, Carlos Alcaraz is hoping to find his rhythm at the BNP Paribas Open after a turbulent start to the season.

The Spaniard overcame Matteo Arnaldi in three sets in his opening match at the ATP Masters 1000 event on Friday night, putting to bed any major concerns about the ankle injury he suffered in Rio de Janeiro last month.

“I'm coming here with not too many matches. I think last year I came here with more matches in my bag with more rhythm,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “Now I'm recovering from injury on the ankle. I was thinking about it all the time and I couldn't practise as much as I wanted, with the high intensity.

“But right now I'm getting better and feeling really, really well. But I think I have to get a good rhythm step by step. I think that's the big difference between last year and this one.”

Alcaraz enjoyed a dream run in Indian Wells last season, not dropping a set en route to the third of his four Masters 1000 crowns. In 2023, Alcaraz arrived at the event holding an 8-1 record on the year, having triumphed in Buenos Aires. This year, he walked onto court against Arnaldi with a 6-3 tally in 2024, having not reached a final since Cincinnati last August.

The 20-year-old admitted that his lack of matches and ankle worries led to nerves during the early stages of the match.

“This [is a] really special tournament for me. I want to do it well. This is the first match playing high intensity and I didn't know how it's going respond, the ankle,” said Alcaraz, who lost the first set 6-7(5). “[There were] a lot of things coming to my mind. I couldn't be focused 100 per cent in the match and it made me get a little bit nervous.

“I have to deal with it, but I didn't deal with the nerves very well in the first set, moving differently, hitting the ball differently. My game is playing aggressive all the time. And try to stay calm and wait for my chances. When you get nervous, you don't think about it. You don't hit the ball as good as you want. You don't move as good as you want. I think that's the big difference.”

With Alcaraz dropping 1,000 PIF ATP Rankings points as the defending champ, he has fallen behind Jannik Sinner to No. 3 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings this week — but his progress to the third round drew him back within 105 points of the red-hot Italian for World No. 2.

Chasing his first title of the season, he will look for further improvement when he meets Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday. The Canadian leads Alcaraz 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series but the Spaniard did win their latest meeting in Indian Wells last year.