The two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz remained perfect in 2026 with his fourth-round win, Jack Draper downs Djokovic to reach Indian Wells QFs
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INDIAN WELLS — The two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz remained perfect in 2026 with his fourth-round win over Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(2) and advanced to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells Open for the fifth straight year.
The 22-year-old seven-time major champion is bidding to become one of four players to have won three or more Indian Wells singles titles this century, and he is now one of four players to have reached five consecutive quarterfinals in the California desert.
Additionally, he is the first man to reach five quarterfinals here before turning 23.
Alcaraz set the tone with a break in the first game of the match, then further excited the crowd with a quintessential Alcaraz moment: a devilish topspin lob, taken out of the air, that had Ruud scratching his head just over ten minutes into the match.
Also read: Indian Wells Open: Jannik Sinner edges Fonseca in thriller to reach QF
The Norwegian netted a forehand moments later and took a dejected walk to his chair, now trailing 3-0 in the first set. The rest of the opening set went without resistance.
Ruud rose to the challenge in the second. The three-time major finalist brought some of his own electricity to the big stage on Wednesday. He rifled a jaw-dropping forehand passing shot to level the set at three-all.
The Norwegian made it all the way through the set without facing a break point, but Alcaraz turned on the style in the tiebreak, making several winners for the highlight reel as he raced to victory.
Alcaraz will face 2021 champion Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev also continued his winning ways in Tennis Paradise, notching a 6-2, 6-4 win over 21-year-old American Alex Michelsen to reach the quarterfinals.
Draper downs Djokovic to reach Indian Wells QFs
Jack Draper earned one of the best wins of his career at the Indian Wells Open as he overcame five-time champion Novak Djokovic to enter the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Draper absorbed all of the five-time champion’s punches and threw a flurry of his own to rally past
Djokovic in one of the matches of the tournament, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).
Draper, now riding a nine-match winning streak in the California desert, will face two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in quarterfinal.
In an opening set that went with serve for the first nine games, it was 24-time major champion Djokovic who drew first blood, breaking for 6-4.
After a trade of breaks early in the second, it was Draper who took the initiative. A break to love in the ninth game set the table and gave the Brit a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. He didn’t miss, and with the slate wiped clean, the best was yet to come in the decider.
The point of the match occurred at 30-all in the first game of the decider. Djokovic ran the length of the court three time and finally won the point with a drop shot that clipped the tape.
Djokovic earned a 0/40 lead when Draper served for the match at 5-4 in the decider, eventually earning a break, but the 24-year-old quickly rebounded and held his nerve in the deciding-set tie-break.
Exhibiting the same steely form that carried him to the title last year, Draper continued to apply pressure and scored a break for 2-1. But the break disappeared when Draper failed to serve out the match, broken for 5-all.
The two-hour, 35-minute test of wills finally came to an end two points later, with Draper holding steady from the baseline with the legend for two consecutive points to lock up the victory.