Leylah Fernandez thanks Carlos Alcaraz for letting her and her team watch him practice at Indian Wells 2023
Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez has expressed her gratitude for getting to watch Carlos Alcaraz practice up close at the ongoing Indian Wells tournament.
Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist, is looking for her third WTA tour title. Her two previous titles have both come at the Monterrey Open, in 2021 and 2022.
At Indian Wells, Fernandez beat Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 64. She is currently playing against Caroline Garcia in the Round of 32.
Ahead of that big match, Fernandez visited Alcaraz's practice session. She subsequently took to social media to thank the Spaniard for letting her and her team watch him practice.
"Thank you @carlitosalcarazz for letting myself and my team watch you practice," Fernandez captioned her Instagram story with a picture of herself and her team with Carlos Alcaraz.
Carlos Alcaraz hopes to get back to World No. 1
Carlos Alcaraz, the number one seed at Indian Wells, doesn't think he is the favorite to win the BNP Paribas Open title given his lack of match-time on hardcourts this season. The Spaniard, however, will leave no stone unturned in his quest to regain the World No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz has played only two tournaments so far this year, both on clay, after ending his 2022 season at the Paris Masters due to an abdominal injury. His start to 2023 was marred by a hamstring injury, and he only began his season at the Argentina Open last month.
Indian Wells is Alcaraz's first tournament on hardcourts since November 2022. The World No. 2 feels it will take some time for him to be considered the favorite to win such big tournaments on the surface.
"I don't consider myself the favorite because I haven't played a tournament on a hard surface for a long time," Carlos Alcaraz said ahead of the start of his Indian Wells campaign, as per Marca.
The reigning US Open champion is aware, however, that he has a chance to overtake Novak Djokovic as the ATP World No. 1 by winning the title at Indian Wells. Needless to say, he is highly motivated by that goal.
"It's a good goal for me and I'm going to go for it. I'd like to get a great result here because I love the tournament," Alcaraz added.
Alcaraz beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 64, and will be up against Tallon Griekspoor in the Round of 32.