Carlos Alcaraz progresses to his second consecutive Indian Wells quarter-final after his opponent, Jack Draper, retired due to an abdominal injury when the teenager led 6-2, 2-0. Alcaraz had the edge throughout the match, hitting 16 winners and 12 unforced errors. He denied three break points in the encounter’s second game and stole the rival’s serve three times to come out on top.
Alcaraz is now seeking his third Masters 1000 crown and Novak Djokovic’s ATP throne, moving three wins from becoming world no. 1 again.
Draper struggled from the start, getting broken in the first game and retiring after the second set’s second game. Alcaraz hit errors in the second game but denied three break points and moved 2-0 in front. He then extended the lead to 3-1 before opening a 4-1 gap and eventually winning the set 6-2 in 37 minutes.
Draper received a medical timeout on his abdominal wall and hit a double fault to experience three break points at the start of the second set. He eventually retired after losing the opening point of the third game, not wanting to risk anything ahead of Miami.