There are issues that are never resolved. Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill JFK or did he enlist the help of other marksmen? Is Casablanca the best film ever? Monarchy or republic? Meat or fish? The matter of Carlos Alcaraz, however, leaves little room for debate. He is, without a doubt, the best tennis player in the world. They put him in front of a fearsome opponent, with a streak of 19 consecutive victories, former US Open champion, serious contender to dethrone Djokovic and Nadal as leader of the next breed of tennis players, and erased him from the court in an hour and 11 minutes. Seeing is believing.

The Murcian won 6-3 and 6-2 to Russian Daniil Medvedev in the blink of an eye to recover the number one in world tennis and win his first Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, the "fifth great" of the circuit. After an irregular semifinal match against Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz dazzled again. He played an almost perfect, immaculate match. An exhibition that helps him dethrone Novak Djokovic and extend his 19-week streak at the top of the ATP rankings.

Medvedev was looking to be the first player since Andy Murray to win four tournaments in five weeks. He stayed on the fence in his first final in Indian Wells. The one from El Palmar took ahead of what he considered the best player of the moment until before the match. "I always say if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and I would say Daniil is the best player right now... He's on an incredible winning streak," he said.

The second clash between the two had nothing to do with the first. Alcaraz was another player completely different from the one who fell in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021 in three sets, light years away from the imposing security he exhibits in each match. It's not just his physical ability and the level of his tennis. Mentally he seems indestructible. His hand didn't shake at all, despite it being his first Indian Wells final. He behaves as if he has been on the circuit all his life.

Alcaraz began attacking, looking to dominate the points, tucked on the track in front of the Russian of almost two meters high. Quite the opposite of a hesitant Medvedev who gave up his first two break balls to the first change and his serve, in tow at the start. Alcaraz seemed touched by the wand of the first matches in the Californian desert, full of confidence. In just ten minutes he had already put the 3-0 on the scoreboard with his classic electric game. Left, volleys, backhands and deep winning forehands. A gale.

It wasn't just a remarkable deployment in attack. His defensive arguments seduced even more a central Indian Wells clearly decanted on the side of Murcia. Alcaraz reached everything, even in the most demanding points. The shouts of "Come on, Charlie!" and "Long live Spain!" followed each other throughout the clash. Some asked him, not without some sarcasm, to lower the level a little, that they wanted to see more games.

Medvedev was cut off. He was inaccurate, subdued by the offensive of his rival and with eight unforced errors in the first set. Too much compared to the level of perfection of the new world number one. In just 35 minutes he already had half the title in his pocket. And not only that, the feeling that the Russian had surrendered ahead of time.

The first game of the second set gave him away with three unforced errors and a double fault. Alcaraz grew even more. He passed over the world number 6 of 27 years. He basically did what he wanted. The sixth game, the one that put him at the gates of victory, he solved with three left that Medvedev practically did not bother to run. It was the chronicle of a death foretold from the beginning.

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  • Carlos Alcaraz
  • Novak Djokovic
  • Rafa Nadal