The last time Carlos Alcaraz saw Lance Davis around the court at the BNP Paribas Open, it was because of a bee swarm that interrupted his match against Alexander Zverev last year.
Davis returned to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the coin toss in Alcaraz’s match against Quentin Halys on Saturday. His emergency bee keeping services weren’t needed but Alcaraz began the defense of his repeat with plenty of sting thanks to a 6-4, 6-2 win. The routine looking score was a fair reflection of proceedings at a Stadium 1 bathed in sunshine, despite some tension from Alcaraz.
“It wasn’t easy to control the emotions, to control the nerves,” Alcaraz said in a TV interview. “I was really nervous at the beginning, before the match. I had to be focused to calm down to control that and try to play good tennis at the beginning.” He did.
The lone opportunity for the big serving Halys — playing at a career high 59th in the rankings after a semifinal in Dubai — came when he had a break point at 4-5 in the first set. Alcaraz saved it in style, ripping a forehand after Halys couldn’t apply pressure.
Alcaraz set the tone in the second set by ripping a backhand winner down the line and eased to victory in one hour, seven minutes. He tallied 95 percent of his first serve points and dictated throughout.
