It happens every time that guy Carlos Alcaraz takes the court. One outrageously zany point where he does something that people who have been watching tennis for decades will swear on the life of their favorite doubles partner that they have never seen before.
And they are probably right because even as he muddled (for him) his way through the past six months or so, experiencing some version of a sophomore slump, Alcaraz has never failed to produce the spectacular.
On Sunday, in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the moment arrived a little more than halfway through the first set against Daniil Medvedev.
A perfectly lofted short-range lob came at Alcaraz as he closed in on the net. At first, he thinks he can leap backwards and smack it — but halfway into that maneuver, he realizes he has to turn and spring and chase it down, which he does, just before it settles onto the purple hard court for a second time.
