The first ATP Masters of the season, the Indian Wells Masters, one of the North American "Sunshine Doubles", will continue to play four 1/8 finals in the lower half of the region in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Spain's all-round fighter Alcaraz will face the old Bulgarian handsome Dimitrov, which will be the first real test of Alcaraz's title defense.

Because Dimitrov, who was born in May 1991, began to rejuvenate in the second half of 2023, his performance was high, and he returned to the top ten immortals in the world ranking after six years. Moreover, after three consecutive defeats to Alcaraz, Dimitrov defeated Alcaraz twice in a row in the 1/8 finals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters and the 1/4 finals of the 2024 Miami Masters. Tomorrow at 9 a.m., the two will meet for the sixth time in their careers, how can Alcaraz lose three in a row to Dimitrov?

Alcaraz, who was born in May 2003, turned professional in 2018. Alcaraz has suffered just one defeat in a row so far in his career, and that was in the 2021-2022 season.

Against opponents such as the Big Three, Alcaraz has only lost twice in a row to Spanish god Rafael Nadal and Serbian star Djokovic twice. Against his lifelong enemy, Italian post-00 newcomer Wang Sinner, Alcaraz won six and lost four, and suffered two consecutive defeats. Against Zverev Jr., the leader of the German tank and post-95 players, Alcaraz won five and lost six, and suffered two consecutive defeats. Against the only post-90s player in the current top 20 in the world, the old Bulgarian handsome man Dimitrov, Alcaraz won three and lost two, and was in a two-game losing streak.

Alcaraz's only three-game losing streak in his career so far was thanks to Canadian cooler Aliassime. Born in August 2000, Aliassime was the first post-00 player to emerge and reached the semifinals at the 2021 US Open, becoming the first post-00 player to rank in the top 10 of the world rankings. Aliassime defeated Alcaraz, who reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, in the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open. At the 2022 US Open, Alcaraz soared to the sky, surpassed Aliassime to become the first post-00 player to win a Grand Slam championship, became the world No. 1, and is the youngest world No. 1 since the introduction of the computer point ranking system in ATP1971! However, Alcaraz, who has just reached the top of the world, lost to Aliassime twice in a row in the group stage of the Davis Cup team stage and the semifinals of the ATP 500 Basel Station. However, the current head-to-head record between the two is that Alcaraz has taken the lead after winning four games in a row.

Tomorrow morning, in the 1/8 finals of the Indian Wells Masters, Alcaraz vs Dimitrov, Alcaraz faces a tough test and must try to avoid a second consecutive defeat in his career.

Dimitrov was one of the three most outstanding players of the post-90s generation that year, the other two being Canadian artillery Raonic and Austrian hip Thiem. After winning the US Open junior title in 2008, Dimitrov turned professional. At Wimbledon in 2014, Dimitrov reached the semi-finals and broke into the top 10 in the world rankings in the same year. In the 2017 season, Dimitrov achieved the highest achievement of his career, the Australian Open semifinals, the Cincinnati Masters champion, the ATP year-end finals champion, and the year-end world ranking third, only behind the Spanish god of war Nadal and the Swiss king Federer.

At the 2019 US Open, Dimitrov reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the third time. Since then, due to his advanced age and injuries, Dimitrov's performance has deteriorated, and he has almost disappeared.

In the second half of the 2023 season, Dimitrov suddenly rejuvenated and re-emerged as an old and strong player on the tour, taking on the responsibility of being the leader of the post-90s generation. In the 1/8 finals of the Shanghai Masters in October 2023, Dimitrov unexpectedly defeated Alcaraz, a Spanish all-round warrior who has two Grand Slam titles and four Masters titles, after three consecutive defeats. At the Paris Masters in November 2023, Dimitrov reached the final of the Masters for the second time in his career.

At the ATP 250 Brisbane in January 2024, Dimitrov won the ninth title of his career, which was his first title in six years. At the Miami Masters in March 2024, Dimitrov showed his power again and defeated Alcaraz, who had just defended his title at the Indian Wells Masters, one of the "Sunshine Doubles", in two sets in the quarterfinals, causing a shocking upset. Dimitrov continued his efforts and defeated German tank Zverev in the semi-finals to reach the final of the Masters for the third time in his career, returning to the top 10 in the world rankings after a six-year absence. In the 2024 season, Diditloff also won the ATP Edberg Sportsmanship of the Year Award.

Dimitrov, a veteran of the post-90s, has extremely rich combat experience and strong psychological quality after a long time of testing; The single counterattack ball falls sharply, the angle is very large, and the one-handed cutting is flat and turning, and it is difficult to fight back; Coupled with two consecutive victories over Alcaraz for two consecutive years, the psychological advantage is very obvious, and of course more confident and self-reliant. Alcaraz will have to stay focused against a strong opponent, be cautious with Dimitrov's chipping balls, especially his downspin balls, and insist on more transitions and not rush into attacks, otherwise he could dramatically increase his unforced errors and significantly undermine his confidence.

The soldiers are coming to the city, and the great war is coming. How could Alcaraz, who is aiming to defend the Indian Wells Masters title for three consecutive years, lose to Dimitrov three times in a row?

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)