Why Carlos Alcaraz was ‘mad’ at himself during his match against Arthur Rinderknech at Indian Wells

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Carlos Alcaraz was not entirely happy with his latest win at Indian Wells against Arthur Rinderknech.

Alcaraz beat Rinderknech in straight sets at the Qatar Open last month, but was forced to come from a set down at Indian Wells to beat the Frenchman 6(6)-7, 6-3, 6-2.

This is the world number one’s 14th consecutive win of the 2026 season, as Alcaraz moves closer towards Novak Djokovic’s record.

Alcaraz continues to dominate the ATP Tour, but he has admitted he felt annoyed during the first set of the match against Rinderknech.

Carlos Alcaraz annoyed about missed break point opportunities against Arthur Rinderknech

Rinderknech reached the Shanghai Masters final last year, and produced similar tennis to that run during his latest match against Alcaraz.

In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz compared Rinderknech to Roger Federer when asked if he thinks players raise their levels against him.

“Well, to be honest, I just sometimes get tired about playing Roger Federer every round,” joked Alcaraz. “Yeah, sometimes just feel like, yeah, they playing really an insane level.

“I don’t know if I’m feeling not the right way, but I feel it’s just against me all the time. If they play like, you know, that level every match, they should be higher in the ranking. But, you know, obviously is something that concern me. When I’m just playing, I think about that.

“You know, all can I do is just accept it, keep it going, trying to, like, do different things in the match, trying to, you know, try not to let him be aggressive or playing his style, trying to, you know, put my style, my tennis, my level into the match and trying to turn around the things that what I try to do. But obviously the first thing is just accept it.”

Alcaraz added when asked why he thinks players raise their game against him, “I don’t know. I feel like I have a target on my back, and I feel like if they don’t play that kind of tennis they can’t win or it is what I think they could think.”

What would the score be if Carlos Alcaraz faced prime Roger Federer?

Who is winning and in how many sets?

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The Spaniard has only had to come from a set down in three of his 14 wins so far this year, including the Australian Open final, with Alcaraz admitting he was frustrated in the first set particularly.

Alcaraz had two break point opportunities in this first set, as well as a set point in the tie-break.

“Well, in the beginning I was a little bit mad with myself, because I just had a lot of chances in the first set, a few break points, set point, and I couldn’t make it,” explained Alcaraz.

“So I feel like I just left a lot of great chances for me. So sometimes difficult to accept it, but, you know, in the beginning of the second set, he played such a great level, you know, in the game that he broke my serve. So, yeah, just accept it, be strong mentally, stay calm as much as I can. Trying to keep going.

“I knew that I was going to have more chances, and if I wasn’t there, I can’t take that, I can’t take them. The first main thing is to stay there all the time, try to win my service game, try to put pressure on his serve games, and let’s see what happens, but obviously in the best way possible.”

Who is Carlos Alcaraz playing next at Indian Wells?

After Alcaraz fought back to win his latest match, he will now play Casper Ruud, who beat Rinderknech’s cousin, Valentin Vacherot, in his third round encounter.

This will be a seventh meeting between the two players, with Alcaraz leading the head-to-head against Ruud 5-1.

All six of their previous matches have taken place on hard courts, including Alcaraz beating Ruud in the 2022 US Open final.

Ruud’s only win over Alcaraz came at the 2024 ATP Finals, where he beat the seven-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets.

The Norwegian will be hoping for a similar outcome when he plays Alcaraz again on Wednesday, March 11.