Carlos Alcaraz already has a rival for his Indian Wells debut

the aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis26 years old and world number 94, defeated the American Brandon Holt (6-4, 6-1) and will be the first opponent of Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) in Masters 1,000 on a difficult path Indian Wells (USA)where the Spaniard seeks to regain the world number 1.

At the age of 19, Alcaraz became the youngest king of tennis in history after winning the US Open in 2022an honor he can return if he wins the title once the current No. 1, Novak Djokovicis not at Indian Wells because he still hasn’t been vaccinated against the coronavirus and hasn’t received special permission to enter USA.

“I feel really good today. I’ve had a few days off and they’ve been good for me. Now I’m ready. Playing the Masters 1,000 is always difficult, but I want to get a good result here. Winning the tournament and coming back at No. 1 is a good goal for me and I want to do it,” Alcaraz said at his press conference in Indian Wells, after sharing practice with Frances Tiafoe.

Carlitos has arrived at Tennis Paradise 🌴@carlosalcaraz and @FTiafoe hit the practice courts in Indian Wells#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/IUGQUCS2Uk

—Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 8, 2023

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In the California desert, the Murcian will test the competition if he has fully recovered from the hamstring injury in his right leg that prevented him from performing 100% in the final of Rio de Janeiro -lost against Cameron Norrie– and forced him to resign last week from the Acapulco ATP.

Kokkinakis, one of his best friends Nick Kyrgioswhere he won the doubles title of Australian Open 2022also achieved his only individual trophy on the ATP circuit last year, when Adelaidewhere he reached the semifinals in January, currently his best result of 2023. Alcaraz and Kokkinakis will cross rackets for the first time this Saturday.

If he goes through the rounds, maybe later Tallon Griekspoor (3rd round), Pablo Carreño, Daniel Evans (eighth), Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz, Tommy Paul (fourth), Taylor Fritz, Holger Rune or Jannik Sinner (semifinals ). Spanish tennis player’s rival.

On the other side of the frame, Stefanos TsitsipasCasper Ruud, Daniel Medvedev and Andrey Rublev tops the seeding list to reach the hypothetical final in Indian Wells, with the reigning champion being American Taylor Fritz.