Carlos Alcaraz jokes he’s ‘playing every round against Roger Federer’ after Indian Wells win | ATP Tour
match response
Alcaraz joked he was ‘playing every round against Federer’ after Indian Wells win
The Spaniard has a record of 14 wins and 0 losses this season
March 10, 2026
ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz beat Arthur Lindeknych in three sets on Monday in Indian Wells.
Sam Jacott
Carlos Alcaraz is used to opponents getting the best out of him. But after defeating Arthur Lindknecht at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Monday, the Spaniard described the challenge in a humorous way.
“I just feel tired sometimes [of] Playing against Roger Federer in every round,” Alcaraz said at the post-match press conference. “sometimes [it] It just feels like they’re playing at a crazy level. ”
World No. 28 Lindeknych hit 17 winners in the tie-break against Alcaraz to seal the first set, before the PIF ATP No. 1 rallied to improve his game even further to win 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2.
For Alcaraz, the experience became increasingly familiar, with opponents free to swing and play their best tennis with little to lose.
“If they play at this level every game, they should be ranked higher,” Alcaraz said. “But it’s obviously something I care about. When I’m just playing, I think about it. All I can do is accept it, move on and try to do different things in the game.
“Trying not to let him be aggressive or play his style. Put my style, my tennis, my level into the game and try to twist things the way I’m trying to do. But obviously, the first thing is to accept it.”
Despite the challenges, Alcaraz is 14-0 this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by wins at the Australian Open and Doha ATP 500 events. Alcaraz believes this phenomenon may just come with being No. 1 in the world.
“I felt like I had a target on my back and I felt like if they didn’t play that kind of tennis, they couldn’t win, or I thought that was what they thought,” Alcaraz further explained.
Alcaraz is seeking his third Indian Wells trophy and ninth ATP Masters 1000 crown this week. The 22-year-old Spaniard will face Casper Ruud in the fourth round and leads the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series 5-1.
