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Carlos Alcaraz's eventful campaign at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters ended dramatically, as his post-match press conference featured a bizarre interruption.
Alcaraz defending his title at the Masters 1000 event with a commanding 7-6(5), 6-1 win over Daniil Medvedev in the final to notch up his first title since Wimbledon last year. With the victory, the Spaniard also recorded his fifth Masters 1000 title and 13th ATP title overall.
Subsequently, the attention shifted to Carlos Alcaraz's post-match press conference, where a bizarre interruption took place when an emergency evacuation announcement began blaring from the speakers:
"Attention. Attention. An emergency has been reported in this building. Please cease operations and leave the building utilising the nearest exit or fire exit stairway. Do not use elevators. Repeat, do not use elevators."
Alcaraz couldn't help but laugh at the disruption, joking that his "fire" performance on the court had triggered the evacuation notice.
"We're in trouble? It's my fire on the court I guess," he joked.
While the World No. 2 and the journalists were able to remain in the building and complete the press conference, the two-time Grand Slam champion poked fun at his misfortune at Indian Wells, recalling being swarmed by bees during his quarterfinal clash against Alexander Zverev.
"Bees, here, this one. A news all week. God damn," he remarked.
Here's the video of the fire evacuation call during his press conference:
Carlos Alcaraz after Indian Wells triumph: "Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts"
Before his campaign at the Indian Wells Masters, Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the Rio Open after sustaining an ankle injury.
Following his triumph over Daniil Medvedev in the final, the Spaniard admitted to grappling with significant doubts about his ankle at the Masters 1000 event. As such, the World No. 2 expressed his delight at overcoming his physical problems to secure his second consecutive Indian Wells title.
"Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle. I remember my first practice here was just 30 minutes with no movement and probably the first practice with really good tennis players was really tough for me, because I thought I was not going to play my best," Carlos Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
"As I said after every match, I was feeling better and better. I’m really, really happy to be able to win this tournament again," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz will be in action at the Miami Open next, entering the Masters 1000 event as the top seed following Novak Djokovic's withdrawal. The Spaniard shared that his Indian Wells triumph has provided him with added motivation to aim for the Sunshine Double in Miami.
"Obviously winning tournaments helps a lot coming to to the next ones. Obviously winning a Masters 1000 again — it is a really difficult tournament to win — gives you extra motivation to keep going, extra confidence for Miami right now and for what's next," Carlos Alcaraz said.
The Miami Open will be played from March 20-31.
