Roddick: Indian Wells a much-needed return to glory for Alcaraz, still patiently waiting for Nadal

The BNP Paribas Open–the first of two Masters 1000 events during the Sunshine Double–came to an end last weekend. On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz returned from an ankle injury suffered last month in Rio de Janeiro to successfully defend his title in the desert. It marked Alcaraz’s first tournament victory since Wimbledon in the summer of 2023, and he had not even played in a final since the Cincinnati Masters.

As such, it was an extremely important result for the 20-year-old–not only because of the uncertainty due to the Rio injury, but also given a dropoff in form since his triumph at the All-England Club. It was also an especially encouraging result for Alcaraz because he toppled Jannik Sinner, the hottest player on tour, en route to the winner’s trophy. The Italian had won 19 matches in a row prior to his semifinal loss to the Spaniard.

Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and now a tennis channel analyst and Betway correspondent, recently weighed in with his thoughts on the festivities in Indian Wells. Roddick was impressed with both Alcaraz and Sinner.

“[Alcaraz] needed this result,” Roddick wrote. “The surface at Indian Wells does Carlos the most favors of any of the top players, so, searching for confidence, it was a great time for him to arrive at this venue and defend his title. It was nice to see him in full flight and this will give him a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the year. A confident, engaged Alcaraz is good for tennis.

“That Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner rivalry is starting to feel like a heavyweight fight with the energy around it…. Going into their semifinal, Sinner had established himself as the best player in the world for at least the last four months, and that third set was the first time we’ve seen him look human in all that time.

“Even though that 19-match streak came to an end, I continue to be so impressed with him.”

If there was one downside for tennis fans in “Tennis Paradise,” it was that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played a combined two matches. Djokovic was stunned by Luca Nardi in the third round and Nadal withdrew prior to his opening match against Milos Raonic.

Neither man is playing the Miami Open, so we won’t see either Djokovic or Nadal until the clay-court swing. Roddick–like the rest of the tennis world–can’t wait to see them back on the dirt.

“Do I think [Djokovic’s] game would be better served if he played Miami? Yes, but that’s secondary. He’s going to be ready for Roland Garros and anyone who pretends like they know how to prepare for a tournament more than Novak Djokovic is kidding themselves.

“Nadal would ideally want to play maybe three events going into the French Open. He’s the type of player that needs matches and needs that physical feedback…. Monte-Carlo is going to be a big tell as to where his body is at. If he participates in that, then we’re going to see a fuller schedule.”