“I have played the tournaments a lot of times, but every year is kind of different,” Alcaraz said after the match. “Different feelings, different, I gonna say different everything.

“Obviously talking about this tournament, it’s something that I really want to go far, and probably it is an extra pressure. That’s why I was a little bit nervous. So, I try to show that I wasn’t, but I think it is normal and it’s gonna be like that in every tournament, I guess.”

Already a four-time major champion, Alcaraz arrives in the desert with the chance to take control of the field in the absence of Jannik Sinner, who is currently serving a suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.

“Well, it’s something that it is in the mind, but I’m not really focusing on it,” Alcaraz said. “Because in every tournament I just focus on myself, I focus on, okay, I really want to play good tennis, I am focused on how I can be better, a better player.

“You know, if I’m doing the right things in every tournament, the No. 1 is gonna come after. So if I’m thinking about the No. 1, I have to do good results, I have to win tournaments. If I’m focusing on it just to recover the No. 1 I’m putting extra pressure on myself, which I don’t want it. So I just keep going, focus on the things that I have to improve on myself, and we will see.”