By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Thursday, February 27, 2025
Photograph credit score: Frey/TPN/Getty
The Indian Wells Tennis Backyard is one in all Carlos Alcaraz’s favourite spots on tour.
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Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev within the 2024 remaining to change into the primary man since Novak Djokovic in 2016 to efficiently defend the BNP Paribas Open.
Subsequent week, Alcaraz launches his quest to affix Roger Federer and Djokovic because the third man to three-pear as Indian Wells champion.
Assembly the media in a Tennis Channel convention name to advertise the community’s first-ball-to-last ball protection beginning on Wednesday, Davenport cited three explanation why Alcaraz is a robust favourite to three-peat.
1. Confidence—Alcaraz rides a 12-match Indian Wells successful streak into the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, together with wins over his high rivals.
2. Circumstances—The slower, grittier courtroom give Alcaraz ample time to arrange for his pictures and launch his flame thrower forehand.
3. Competitors—The second seed ought to prosper in a subject the place world No. 1 Sinner is MIA serving his three-month suspension to settle WADA’s enchantment of his doping case.
Moreover, world No. 2 Zverev has suffered back-to-back losses to Francisco Comesana and Learner Tien and Djokovic, who suffered a torn left leg muscle that compelled him to retire from the Australian Open semifinals, has performed only one match since his Melbourne departure.
“Though he shall be seeded 2, I imagine behind Zverev… I do not suppose any loopy rating factors are falling off this week… he is the favourite in everybody’s thoughts primarily based on his previous play,” Davenport advised the media. “Clearly with out Sinner there as properly.
“He is a kind of varieties of gamers that may fill a stadium with folks simply so excited to see what pictures he comes up with, the extent that he brings. He has that “it” issue, and tennis is basically fortunate to have him in our sport.
“The floor we have been speaking about provides him extra time to arrange his forehands. It provides him extra time to hit his drop pictures. The ball just isn’t skidding into him. He can nonetheless hit sufficiently big to hit via the circumstances, later within the day, at evening typically when it will get a bit of heavier and a bit of cooler.
“He is my favourite there to win the lads.”
