Carlos Alcaraz powers into Indian Wells quarter-finals as Jack Draper upsets Novak Djokovic

INDIAN WELLS – World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells on March 11, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (7-2), while Jack Draper upset world No. 3 Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.

Alcaraz, 22, relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of his match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.

Thirteenth-seeded Ruud, 27, raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, but the Spaniard kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.

“The conditions were difficult, to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time Indian Wells champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.

“My first set was incredible and I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level in the next round.”

He will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2. Alcaraz will be looking to avenge a defeat by the Briton at the 2025 Paris Masters.

Defending champion Draper claimed one of the biggest wins of his career by beating 38-year-old Djokovic in a deciding-set tiebreak after 2hr 35min.

The Briton, who dropped the opener 6-4, stormed into the second set by breaking Djokovic early and surviving multiple break points before sealing it with aggressive baseline play.

Draper surged to leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the decider before Djokovic battled back to 5-5 and then broke him as he first served for the match.

The 24-year-old kept his composure, forced the tiebreak and dominated it to close out a statement victory. He said: “I still don’t feel like I’m playing anywhere near the way I want to play.

“I came out here tonight and won that match through determination. Trying to problem-solve, do my best and have a great attitude. Only up from here, hopefully.”

Draper will next face Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just 1hr 27min to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning the Dubai Open title on Feb 28.

In the women’s draw, world No. 2 Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the 2025 tournament.

“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” the Pole, 24, said. “I love playing here... It’s a great place to play tennis.”

Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured after trailing 6-1, 1-1.

American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.

She will next take on third seed Elena Rybakina, who advanced to the quarter-finals after Sonay Kartal retired when 6-4, 4-3 behind. REUTERS