Nobody really knew what to expect from Carlos Alcaraz before he made his way to Indian Wells, but he looks better in every match.
There was a lot of uncertainty regarding Alcaraz leading up to the Indian Wells Open. The Spaniard rolled his ankle badly at the Rio Open, which wasn't that long ago. A few days later, Alcaraz confirmed that he would play at the Indian Wells Open as his injury wasn't that severe.
His return happened a few days before the Indian Wells Open, at the Netflix Slam, against Rafael Nadal. He would win that match and continue winning in the early rounds of Indian Wells.
The most recent win was over Fabian Marozsan, and it was a pretty sturdy straight-sets win. He looks very comfortable on the court, and the ankle injury seems to be a thing of the past. He even admitted feeling quite good after the win over the Hungarian.
"Yeah, let's say almost perfect. I always say I can be better, can play better. But really happy with the way that I approach the match, the way that I played, and my feelings."
It's good to see Alcaraz grow in confidence because his ankle is improving. He kind of hinted at not being 100% before the start of the event, but as time passes, things are clearly falling into place.
"You know, I think I moved well. I controlled very well the timing of the match. In the toughest points, toughest moments, breakpoints down, breakpoints up, I managed very well that timing. Yeah, my confidence is getting higher."
That makes him very dangerous, as he won this event last year and played really well the year before as well. We'll see what happens in the matchup against Alexander Zverev, who ousted him at the Australian Open earlier this year.