Carlos Alcaraz won the ticket for the Indian Wells quarterfinals due to British Jack Draper's withdrawal due to injury in his round of 16 match. Alcaraz had dominated the first set 6-2 from start to finish and only two games of the second set were played (2-0 for the Murcian) before Draper threw in the towel due to what appeared to be abdominal discomfort after just 47 minutes. meeting minutes.
"Get well soon, Jack!!", Alcaraz wrote on the American broadcast camera after finishing the match.
A semifinalist in 2022 at the Californian desert tournament, where he lost to his compatriot Rafa Nadal in an exciting duel, Alcaraz will seek a place in the semifinals against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, winner of the exciting duel against American Tommy Paul (3-6, 6-3 and 7-6(6) that closed the day in the Californian desert
Alcaraz leads the Spanish delegation in Indian Wells, popularly known as the 'fifth Grand Slam', along with Alejandro Davidovich, who this Tuesday qualified for the quarterfinals with a resounding 6-3, 6-4 victory in one hour and 24 minutes against Chilean Cristian Garín. Davidovich, who is not on the side of the Alcaraz team, will have a tough nut to crack in the quarterfinals: a confrontation against the Russian Daniil Medvedev who has already won three tournaments so far this year.
Also showing very positive feelings is Alcaraz who seems to have already left behind the hamstring injury that had left his participation in Indian Wells in question. 19-year-old Alcaraz faced another great young talent on the circuit such as Draper, 21, but the Spaniard put his game back on track very soon, breaking the first turn to serve the British left-hander.
Undoubtedly in his game, with fantastic control of his shots and a robust service like an oak, Alcaraz controlled a first set with an iron hand that he finished off in 37 minutes. On the other hand, Draper, who had just defeated his idol Andy Murray in the previous round, suffered a lot to ensure his serve, so much so that he started the second set like the first: conceding a 'break' before the overwhelming game of Alcaraz .
The match did not have much more of a story as Draper was forced out of the tournament through injury soon after.
Alcaraz is the first seed in this edition of Indian Wells due to the absence of the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who is still unable to enter the US due to not being vaccinated against the coronavirus. In this way, a victory in the first Masters 1000 of the season would come with an extra prize for the Spaniard since it would allow him to recover the number one in the world ranking, now in possession of Djokovic.
After Indian Wells, Alcaraz will have to defend the 2022 Miami title that marked his first Masters 1000 win of his brief but already brilliant career.
