Jack Draper’s brilliant season continued as the British No 1 knocked out two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to seal a maiden appearance in the Indian Wells final.
The 23-year-old had won only one of their four previous meetings, retiring on two occasions with injury, but demonstrated both his improved fitness and endurance as well as his mental fortitude in a topsy-turvy, three-set win.
Already enjoying his best run in Indian Wells – his previous best had come in 2023, when he reached the fourth round – Draper advanced to a first Masters 1000 final with a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory.
“I feel incredible obviously to beat Carlos in this sort of stage in the tournament on that court,” he said. “I have watched the top players in the world play on that court for many, many years now, and it feels amazing, honestly, both those things.
“I’ve got one more to go tomorrow, but obviously very proud of myself and the achievement.”
The Brit, who required an hour and 44 minutes to break Alcaraz’s 16-match win streak at the tournament, will enter the top 10 for the first time as a result.
He won eight of the opening nine points as he quickly sailed into a 3-0 lead, taking advantage of an unusually flat Alcaraz, and secured a double break at 5-1 before closing out the set in just 23 minutes.
While it was an excellent performance by Draper, who has played some of his best tennis in California this week, Alcaraz’s errors also played a big part in a one-sided opening set – with two double faults in his opening service game setting the tone.
But the Spaniard rediscovered his usual form in an equally one-sided second set, blasting forehands and producing his usual highlight-reel range of dropshots, as Draper wilted.
But rather than buckle under the pressure of playing one of the best players of this generation, the Brit gave himself a pep talk in the bathroom between sets two and three and put in a gritty, composed performance to take the decider.
Draper had been forced to retire in their most recent meeting, in the fourth round of the Australian Open, with a hip injury that hampered his pre-season (Getty Images)
“What happened to him happened to me, I got tight, I had low energy,” Draper explained to the ATP Tour site. “Against the top players in the world, they can change their momentum very quickly. 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.”
He was helped by a video assistant review, which is not available at all tournaments but has been in use at Indian Wells. Umpire Mohamed Lahyani ruled that the ball bounced twice when Draper chased down a drop shot at 1-1, 15-15 on Alcaraz’s serve in the third set. Draper requested a video review, which indicated the ball had not bounced twice, and was subsequently awarded the point and went on to break serve.
The incident proved crucial as momentum swung Draper’s way. He served brilliantly and took advantage of more errors from an erratic Alcaraz, and despite being broken on his first attempt to serve out the match, held his nerve on the second to secure a famous win.
Draper has navigated a difficult draw to get this far, with this win over Alcaraz following composed, straight-set wins over rising star Joao Fonseca, tricky American Jenson Brooksby, world No 4 Taylor Fritz and Australian Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton.
Draper, seeded 13th, will play 12th seed Holger Rune in the final after the Dane dispatched fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in his semi-final 7-5, 6-4.
