After a prolonged absence due to a debilitating injury, Carlos Alcaraz made his comeback at the prestigious Indiana Well, and he went on to win the entire thing with such ease and alacrity, you would be forced to think ahead of time and wonder if tennis finally had a scion to the post-Big-Three era.

Always robotic but rarely monotonous, Alcaraz is what you get when you combine the biggest strength of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. This is something that Daniil Medvedev must have realized last night when he appeared totally clueless despite playing at his peak, winning each of his last 19 matches. The in-form Russian lost the plot inside the first 45 minutes and went on to lose 6-3, 6-2.

It was a fitting statement from Alcaraz and came at a perfect time. Many careers have been lost to injuries, and there were doubts about Alcaraz’s efficacy too after his hamstring broke up, but he laid all the doubts to rest. with what was his third Masters 1000 title and his first major achievement since winning US Open last year. The Spaniard has also regained the No. 1 ranking, dethroning the Serbian legend Novak Djokovic.

“It means a lot to me. To recover the No. 1 [ranking] is crazy for me,” Alcaraz said. “But especially to lift the trophy here for me means a lot… I love this tournament. I really enjoy my time here and of course, I felt the love from the people from day one. For me, it’s amazing to complete these 10 days like this.”

Alcaraz is the only teenager, apart from his compatriot Rafael Nadal to win three ATP Masters 1000 titles. Nadal had as many as six titles before turning 20.

“Of course winning a tournament, gives you a lot of confidence,” the Spaniard said. “I’m playing great. Of course today, the conditions today were pretty tough. Of course, Daniil didn’t play at his best, obviously. All I can say is I’m really happy with my performance, the way that I [was] playing this tournament. I’m looking forward to playing this level in Miami as well.”