Carlos Alcaraz: Road to Title at 2023 Indian Wells

08/03/2023 13:00 | by Alex Waite

Carlos Alcaraz will enter the 2023 Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open as the top seed as the Spanish player aims to improve on his semi-final appearance last season.

Alcaraz had a sensational breakthrough year in 2022 where he won the US Open in September and also ended the season as the men's world number one.

In 2023, Alcaraz has already tasted further success. Despite missing out on the first major of the season, the Australian Open, through injury, the 19-year-old has come back strongly and beat Cameron Norrie in the Argentina Open final before reaching the Rio Open final in his next competition.

Due to his impressive form, Alcaraz comes into the 2023 Indian Wells tournament as one of the leading favourites. His first test will be against Thanasi Kokkinakis or US player and wildcard Brandon Holt, which will be the first-ever head-to-head between the pair.

With Djokovic's withdrawal Alcaraz's hunt for no. 1 spot begins

Monday, 06 March 2023

Should Alcaraz successfully navigate his second-round clash against Kokkinakis or Holt, he could face Brazilian Thiago Monteiro or Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor. Both players have made strides in recent competitions, with Monteiro reaching the quarter-finals of the Chile Open and Griekspoor progressing to the Rotterdam Open semi-finals.

If Alcaraz progresses he could then set up a fourth-round clash with fellow Spanish player and 15th seed Pablo Carreño Busta. However, the likes of experienced Andy Murray could also await Alcaraz at this stage.

From the quarter-finals, Felix Auger Aliassime, seeded eighth, could be up next and a potential semi-final matchup with Taylor Fritz might follow for Alcaraz. Fritz famously won the 2022 Indian Wells competition and the US star will want to perform well at his hometown tournament.

On the other side of the draw is second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who could await Alcaraz in the final. However, the 19-year-old has a strong record over Tsitsipas, besting the Greek player in all three previous meetings.

Alternatively, third seed Casper Ruud and fifth seed Daniil Medvedev might also face Alcaraz in a potential final clash.