Carlos Alcaraz targets the “Sunshine Double” and eyes Taylor Fritz challenge, saying, “I aspire to join this exclusive group.”

“These are the players to beat“. At Tennis Channel, Martina Navratilova summarized all the stakes of the last days of competition in Miami. “Favorites ? We have to choose Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina. For me, they have a golden opportunity to do the ‘Sunshine Double’. I even wonder if it has ever happened that this double is achieved at the same time“.

The answer is yes, it is even rather “frequent” since it has happened three times in history: in 1994 (Sampras-Graf), in 2005 (Federer-Clijsters) and in 2016 (Djokovic-Azarenka). Still, achieving the Indian Wells – Miami double is a feat that should be remembered. To do the “Sunshine Double” is to succeed in chaining between twelve and fourteen victories spread over twenty days. And if Miami and Indian Wells are both disputed on American soil, they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

17 wins for 1 loss in 2023

The Californian desert offers courts exposed to the wind to the point of sometimes completely spoiling enticing oppositions, like that between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal last year. In Florida, it’s the humid heat that you have to manage to tame quickly. All without transition, or almost, with 3500 kilometers to go to go from one decorum to another. “You play four weeks in a row, with both ends of the United States to go. It’s the biggest challenge of the trip“, explained Clijsters.

These considerations do not seem to bother Alcaraz unduly. The Spaniard, imperial in Indian Wells, resumed at the same pace in Miami. Tuesday, opposed to Tommy Paul, semi-finalist in Melbourne, he did not leave the slightest opportunity to the American (6-4, 6-4), sometimes overwhelming him with winning shots and ever more bewildering defenses. His record in Florida is immaculate: three matches, no lost sets and an offensive and hard-hitting game that pays off.

The youngest to achieve the double?

Still, this double, unprecedented since Roger Federer in 2017 for men, is running through his head. He admitted it himself after his round of 16 victory: “I try not to think about it but it’s really hard. It’s something I really aim for. I want to be part of the closed circle of players who have achieved the ‘Sunshine Double’. It would be fantastic to do that“.

On the ATP circuit, where Miami has appeared since 1985, the Spaniard would be the eighth man to achieve such a feat. Before him ? Quite simply, a bunch of big names: Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992), Pete Sampras (1994), Marcelo Rios (1998), Andre Agassi (2001), Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2017) and Novak Djokovic (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016). As often with him, Alcaraz could become the youngest of all these prestigious names to do the double when he has not yet celebrated his 20th birthday.

For him, it would be an additional opportunity to anchor his name a little more in the collective consciousness. It is his goal to listen to him. This will obviously go through titles. But also by significant moments, as can be a Sunshine Double in a career. “At the US Open I achieved my dream of winning a Grand Slam and being number one, but I am a very ambitious man who constantly sets goalshe advanced. Right now my big challenge is to be one of the best of all time. It may sound crazy, but I want to look like the Big 3 and that’s what motivates me to do my best“.