Carlos Alcaraz Sets the Tone for Indian Wells Title Defense with Commanding Victory

Carlos Alcaraz is defending his championships from the last two rounds of the Indian Wells Open this year, and he has begun strongly.

Defending one title, let alone two, is never easy. Alcaraz has been the most dominant player at the Indian Wells Open in recent years, demonstrating that the conditions in the California desert suit him.

This year, he, like the other players, had to adjust to new conditions. The event organisers modified the surface, but few players noticed the difference. Some said that the conditions were faster, slower, or the same.

On paper, the conditions should be faster, which shouldn’t suit Alcaraz as much. At the same time, he’s the Wimbledon and US Open champion, proving that he can do well also on fast surfaces.

He showed that he wasn’t bothered by the surface change in his first match at the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season. His opponent was a tricky one, as he took on Quentin Halys.

Halys might be ranked 59th in the world, but that ranking doesn’t reflect his recent form. The Frenchman beat Andrey Rublev recently to reach the Dubai Championships semi-finals.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, despite being the World No. 3 player, was actually the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw when he stepped onto the court for his first match in Indian Wells this year.

Because of Jannik Sinner’s suspension, he is the second seed in Indian Wells, and after Alexander Zverev shockingly lost in his first match, there is no player who would be ranked higher than Alcaraz remaining in the draw.

The second-round meeting between Alcaraz and Halys in Indian Wells had a very interesting start. A person the young Spaniard was very happy to see took care of the coin toss.

Beekeeper Lance Davis, who was a vital part of last year’s tournament after one of Alcaraz’s matches was invaded by bees, appeared on the court ahead of the 21-year-old Spaniard’s first match this year.

Halys is a great server, so Alcaraz knew that breaking the Frenchman’s serve would be crucial to winning this match. He had a chance to do that already in the opening game, but Halys saved the break point he faced.

🎶 Guess who's back, back again 🎶

Tournament beekeeper & American icon Lance Davis reunites with @carlosalcaraz for the coin toss!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/VFb6zxeKfX

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 8, 2025

A couple of games later, however, Alcaraz broke his opponent’s serve, and he kept that one-break advantage throughout the set despite facing a break point when serving to win the set. The two-time defending champion won the first set 6-4.

Alcaraz performed much better in the second set of this contest. He began by breaking Halys’ serve twice, taking 16 of the first 20 points. That streak essentially guaranteed him the win.

Both players then maintained control of their service games, and Alcaraz won 6-4, 6-2 in less than an hour of play. He’s set to face Denis Shapovalov in the third round, who will put the four-time major winner to the test.