Carlos Alcaraz bested Felix Auger-Aliassime in Indian Wells last year, and he's done it again this year, once again in two sets.
Alcaraz and Auger-Alaissime have played a couple of times so far, and funnily enough, the Canadian has had the upper hand in their H2H so far, leading 3-1. The last match, however, was won by Alcaraz, and it was actually last year at this event.
They played in the quarter-final of the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, and the Spaniard won in two sets, 6-4, 6-4. This time around, Alcaraz was even more impressive as he won the opening set 6-2.
The first few games were rather close as Auger-Aliassime was able to hold on; however, he soon got overwhelmed by the Spaniard, who was playing a really sharp match.
The 20-year-old loves the conditions in Indian Wells, as he did well basically each time he played. He went all the way last year and is looking every bit as impressive so far this year.
The Spaniard had seven winners in the opening set, three of which were aces. The second set opened on a high note as well, and he broke Auger-Aliassime immediately to take a 1-0 lead.
He would hold his serve easily for a two lead, and as you can expect, from there, it was a rather easy cruise for the Spaniard. It's quite impressive seeing Alcaraz playing so well because he had some problems with his ankle leading up to this event.
It even affected his practices, so the fact that he's doing so well is quite surprising. The best thing about Alcaraz's performance is that he served well, which is one crucial area he can and should improve in the future.
He finished the match with three aces, winning the vast majority of points behind his first serve (78%). He pushed for a second break in the second set, and after getting it, won the match 6-2, 6-3.