Rafael Nadal congratulates Carlos Alcaraz after Spaniard breezes past Daniil Medvedev to successfully defend Indian Wells title

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal congratulated compatriot Carlos Alcaraz after the latter beat Daniil Medvedev to win the BNP Paribas Open, also commonly known as the Indian Wells Masters 1000 title.

Alcaraz beat Medvedev 7-6 (5), 6-1 to successfully defend his title and also pocketed his fifth ATP Masters title before turning 21. Nadal, incidentally, won nine titles before turning 21. It is the 20-year-old’s first title since winning Wimbledon last year.

Nadal took to Instagram to congratulate Alcaraz and posted a graphic of the Spaniard exulting after his Indian Wells win. “Congratulations,” Nadal posted in Spanish and tagged the 20-year-old.

Nadal spoke high of Alcaraz when the duo met during an exhibition event in Las Vegas earlier this month. The Spaniards faced-off and Alcaraz won the exhibition tie with a 3-6, 6-4, 14-12 scoreline.

Alcaraz started slow and committed a plethora of unforced errors, allowing Medvedev to grow into the game as the Russian broke in his first return game to surge into a 3-0 lead. However, when Alcaraz held his serve at 3-2 with a crushing forehand winner, he got his confidence back.

It was then no looking back for the Spaniard, who gave his all as he used the length and breadth of the court beautifully.

After winning the first set in a close manner, Alcaraz raised his game and broke Medvedev in his first return game in the second. Once he got the momentum on his side, it was an easy outing for Alcaraz as he breezed past Medvedev to win the second 6-1 and pocket the Indian Wells title.

The title win puts Alcaraz in a good space. The BNP Paribas Open title is the World No. 2’s first title since his outstanding win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year. Since then, the Spaniard has been struggling with losses and injuries, compounding his troubles.

Coming at the back of a forced retirement from his first-round match at the Rio Open in February after spraining his ankle, Alcaraz looked a shadow of himself at the start, only to overcome the hiccups and eke out a masterful win.