"I don't remember you winning" - Frances Tiafoe questions Carlos Alcaraz's defending champion status at Indian Wells, Spaniard hilariously responds

Frances Tiafoe recently joked about Carlos Alcaraz's Indian Wells Open defending champion status when the Spaniard posted a video of himself taking pictures of his portrait hung on the wall.

The 20-year-old posted a video clip on his Instagram account on Friday, where he was seen taking pictures of the winners' portraits hung on the wall.

Portraits of the women's champion Elena Rybakina, the men's champion Carlos Alcaraz, men's doubles champions Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna, and women's doubles champions Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková were all displayed on the wall.

“Happy to be back” He then captioned the video

A few hours after the post was made, Frances Tiafoe jokingly commented that he doesn't remember when the Spaniard won the title. In a similarly playful manner, Alcaraz responded that he doesn't remember winning either, and that's why he took the picture.

“I don't remember you winning bro @carlitosalcarazz,” Frances Tiafoe said.

“@bigfoe1998 hahahaha me neither, that's why i took a picture of that photo,” Carlos Alcaraz replied.

Alcaraz began his season at the Australian Open but was edged out in the quarterfinal by Germany's Alexander Zverev. He then competed at the Argentina Open but was eliminated by Chile's Nicolas Jarry in the semifinal.

Carlos Alcaraz later sustained an ankle injury in his first-round match at the Rio Open when he faced Thiago Monteiro. Since then, he has been racing back to fitness and is currently gearing up for the Indian Wells that kicks off on Wednesday (March 6). Alcaraz lifted the trophy last season when he defeated Russian star Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz head-to-head

Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe have faced each other twice, with each winning one match.

Their first encounter was in the first round of the 2021 Barcelona Open where Tiafoe came out victorious. Alcaraz, on the other hand, defeated Tiafoe in the semifinal of the 2022 US Open and went on to defeat Casper Ruud in the final.

The last time Alcaraz participated in the Indian Wells Open, he defeated stars like Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tallon Griekspoor, Jack Draper, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jannik Sinner, before overcoming Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Tiafoe also participated at Indian Wells last season and reached his personal best record of the semifinals by defeating Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler, Alejandro Tabilo, and Cameron Norrie. He suffered a loss to Medvedev in the semifinal.