Jack Draper sinks Carlos Alcaraz to enter Indian Wells final

Jack Draper stopped Carlos Alcaraz in his tracks, preventing him from completing a three-peat at the Indian Wells Open. Meanwhile, the British seed paved his way into the first ATP 1000 final of his career. Draper will now face Holger Rune in the Indian Wells final, who defeated Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final clash. Interestingly, Medvedev had finished as runner-up to Alcaraz in consecutive finals over the past two years, as the Spaniard claimed back-to-back titles at the ATP 1000 tournament. Now, with his 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory over the top-ranked Alcaraz, Draper is on course to claim the biggest title of his ATP Tour career.

Carlos Alcaraz loses a chance at a three-peat at Indian Wells as Jack Draper prevails in the semi-final

A 16-match winning streak of Carlos Alcaraz at the Indian Wells came to close at the hands of Jack Draper. With his surge against the No.3 ranked Spaniard, Draper secured his place in his first-ever ATP 1000 final. The 23-year-old British seed delivered a resilient performance, bouncing back after conceding the set to love, ultimately sealing a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory. The one-hour, 44-minute triumph guarantees Draper a spot inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

Alcaraz, who was aiming to become the first player from the newer gen to win three consecutive singles titles at an ATP Tour event, struggled to carry his momentum into the deciding set. Currently sitting at No. 8 in the ATP live rankings, Draper will now take on Holger Rune in the final, marking the first ATP-level title clash above the ATP 500 tier between two players. Draper has enjoyed a stellar 2025 season so far, boasting a 12-2 record following deep runs at the Australian Open, the Doha final, and now the Indian Wells final. Just a year ago, he was ranked World No. 43, but a breakthrough season saw him climb the ranks with tour-level titles in Stuttgart and Vienna, alongside an impressive US Open semi-final run last year.

🎶 Super Jacky Draper 🎶@jackdraper0 stuns defending champion Alcaraz to reach his FIRST-EVER Masters 1000 final! @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/0VVlA5ZXOU

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 16, 2025

Despite the defeat, Alcaraz will hold onto his World No.3 spot in the updated ATP rankings. However, while his spot remains untouched by the setback, Alcaraz expressed disappointment over his performance. The young Spaniard termed it "one of the worst" sets of his career as he let Draper take the charge of the game.

"Obviously I wanted to win the third in a row, but I can't pretend to win every match," Alcaraz said. "I am not as upset about not getting the third one in a row. I am upset about myself, about the way that I approached the match, the way that I felt during the whole day, that I couldn't calm down myself. That's, for me, the most disappointed thing that I'm feeling right now, because it is probably one of the worst sets that I have played in my whole career, the first set," the Spaniard added following his exit.