Carlos Alcaraz has carried his strong form into Indian Wells, kicking off his campaign with a hard-fought win over Arthur Rinderknech on Monday.
Alcaraz dropped the opening set but rallied to claim a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
After the match, the two players shared a light moment at the net, with Rinderknech joking that he would prefer not to face Alcaraz again anytime soon.
With this victory, Alcaraz has now secured 14 straight wins this season. He is aiming for his third consecutive title of the year at Indian Wells, having already triumphed in Melbourne and Doha.
The win also saw him make another mark in tennis history.
Carlos Alcaraz moves ahead of Stan Wawrinka’s fast start to an ATP season
By extending his unbeaten run to 14 matches, the 22-year-old has already surpassed Stan Wawrinka’s fastest start to a year on tour.
Wawrinka, who has three Grand Slam titles to his name, opened the 2014 ATP season with a 13-match winning streak. That run included victories in both the Chennai Open and Australian Open.
During that stretch, the Swiss took down some of the sport’s biggest names, including Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic.
He was eventually stopped by Kevin Anderson in the fourth round at Indian Wells.
With Wawrinka now behind him, Alcaraz has Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Jannik Sinner next up on his list of targets.
In 1995, Agassi, one of the few men to achieve the ‘Career Grand Slam’, began his ATP season with an impressive 15-match winning streak, marking the sixth-best start in ATP history at the time.
In 2006, Federer achieved his strongest season, which he began by securing 16 consecutive match victories.
Sinner achieved a 16-match winning streak in 2024, which included a victory at the Australian Open, matching a record previously set by Federer.
Novak Djokovic had the greatest start to an ATP season in 2011
Back in 2011, Djokovic put together the most remarkable start to a season that men’s tennis has ever seen.
He opened the year with a run of 41 straight wins, setting a record for the most consecutive victories to start an ATP season.
Djokovic was unbeatable from January through to the French Open semi-finals, picking up titles at the Australian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, Indian Wells, Miami Masters, Serbia Open, Madrid Masters and Rome Masters along the way.
The streak was finally broken by Roger Federer. The Swiss legend won their semi-final match 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 at Roland Garros.
Djokovic finished that year with a stunning 70–6 record across all competitions. Many consider his 2011 campaign to be one of the finest ever seasons in tennis history.
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