With Novak Djokovic out of form and Jannik Sinner banned, is this Carlos Alcaraz's time to sweep the Sunshine Double?

The Sunshine Double is coming up, and one player who won both of the events part of that double could potentially sweep both of them. His name is Carlos Alcaraz, and we're going to look at his chances of doing exactly that in light of his main rivals being less than a threat to him. The Spaniard has triumphed at the Indian Wells two times (2024, 2023).

He's been so dominant at the event that essentially everybody simply expects him to go for a three-peat this year. The main reason why is simply that no player comes close to him there. Interestingly enough, the player he beat in both finals is Daniil Medvedev. The first one in 2023 wasn't particularly close as Alcaraz dominated it 6-2, 6-3. The second one last year was a bit closer but not that much. Alcaraz won 7-6(5), 6-1.

The reason why he's so good in Indian Wells is largely because the conditions suit his style of play. It's one of the slowest hard court events out there, and Alcaraz has dominated those types of events. It gives him enough time to set up his devastating baseline play on top of just giving him time to get too many balls as he's super quick.

It's very hard to win points against him there because you have to outhit him from the baseline. Very few players are capable of doing that and Medvedev certainly isn't. There are players who could do it, but more will be said about that in the second part of this piece. When it comes to the Miami Open, the situation is a bit more tricky.

Alcaraz did win this event in 2022 but since then hasn't shined too much. The court plays faster than Indian Wells, which he tends to struggle with a little bit. It gives his rivals more chances of beating him on that type of court, though the main reason why he's expected to do really well at the Miami Open this year is simply that there aren't any players that should be able to give him too many problems. The reason is the state of current tennis which really lacks a player that could seriously trouble him, especially in the absence of Jannik Sinner.

Will Alcaraz sweep the Sunshine Double?

BNP Paribas Open 2024 - Final Day - Source: Getty

There is a very good chance that he might sweep the events if he manages his physical state well. Going back to back at these events is pretty tough as they're big events and it takes a lot out of a player physically to get it done. So what about his rivals? Well, banned Jannik Sinner won't play at these events and he's generally been the biggest rival for Alcaraz for a while now.

Sinner has given Alcaraz lots of problems because he's one of the few players who can actually go head-to-head with Alcaraz from the baseline. He has the power and the consistency to trouble the Spaniard. Players like Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, and others don't really have that and are unlikely to trouble Alcaraz.

It's a bit more likely in Miami but pretty impossible at the Indian Wells Masters. So that leaves Novak Djokovic as a player who has consistently troubled Alcaraz. He's the only player who beat him this year and it happened at the Australian Open.

There is some psychological stuff going on there as Alcaraz shrinks quite a bit as a player when he faces Djokovic, at least on hard courts where he's massively struggled against him. The problem with Djokovic is that he's really not playing all too well lately. He just returned from injury in Doha and was immediately beaten by an impressive Matteo Berrettini.

Perhaps Djokovic can turn things around and trouble Alcaraz enough to prevent him from winning both trophies, but it looks very unlikely. He would have to be close to his best and he's far away from that. Will he be able to find that level in a couple of weeks is a huge question mark.

After all, Alcaraz's level has been really good this year. Indian Wells is his comfort spot as he's dominated on slow courts like that. Beijing is a clear example of another slow hard court where Alcaraz has dominated, beating even Jannik Sinner on it last year. Miami is a bit tougher but he's won there before and he might win again simply because he's just that much better than the rest of the field.

Alcaraz and Sinner are on a level higher than the rest of the field with Novak Djokovic occasionally rising to that level. The rest of the field is playing on a level clearly below them and that's nothing new. It's been like that for over a year so in short. Yes, Carlos Alcaraz could sweep the Sunshine Double if everything goes right.