Indian Wells, Mar 17: Jack Draper defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells ATP Masters semi-final, securing a spot in the championship match against Holger Rune. The British player, ranked 14th globally, secured a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz to advance to his first Masters 1000 final.
Denmark’s Rune, ranked 13th, defeated world number six Daniil Medvedev in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. Medvedev had finished as runner-up to Alcaraz in the previous two years.
This one hurts. I don’t want to lose any match, but I think this one was even more special to me. It was difficult today, a lot of nerves in the match.”
Draper ended Alcaraz’s 16-match winning streak at Indian Wells. He dominated the first set in 23 minutes as Alcaraz struggled against his left-handed serve.
The second set saw a complete reversal as Alcaraz improved his game. After saving a break point with a 137 mph ace in the opening game, he broke Draper’s serve three times to level the match.
It was a strange match in all honesty. Carlos came out a little flat, I sensed that. I had a chance in the first game of the second, and he came up with an ace… What happened to him happened to me, I got tight, I had low energy. I got lost out there for 25 minutes, but in the third, I was really proud of my competitiveness, my attitude and I somehow managed to get over the line.”