Alcaraz advances to Indian Wells quarterfinals after Jack Draper’s withdrawal

Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament in Indian Wells (USA) this Tuesday, the first Masters 1,000 of the season, after the withdrawal of his British rival Jack Draper when he had already convincingly won the first set (6-2). ) and dominated the second, joining fellow countryman Alejandro Davidovich in disposing of Chile’s Cristian Garín (6-3, 6-4).

The Murcian has taken another step towards winning the title and returning to world number one, although he will now have his first major test at the competition in California as he faces Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassimeeighth favorite and who beat him in the last two matches, both on indoor hard courts, in the group stage of the Davis Cup in Valencia and Basel (Switzerland).

“Honestly, the nerves are there, but you have to deal with it and I would say that I handled them very well in this game. That is my goal to show that I am relaxed, that I play relaxed. It’s something I also work out for, play my tennis and relax. If I lose, I will lose, but I want to feel relaxed on the court.», Alcaraz admitted after his second match in statements collected by the ATP website.

The world number two, last year’s semi-finalist against Rafa Nadal at this Masters 1000, was prepared for the demands that the left-handed Draper would try to place on him, but he attended the event physically reduced in the abdominal area. after his previous round against Andy Murray.

Despite this, the man from El Palmar came out very focused on the court and with his shots did a lot of damage to the Briton who accepted the exchange and who, despite losing the first serve, enjoyed a great 0-40 in the next if the Spaniard did not allow him to take advantage .

Alcaraz maintained his level and achieved a new break against Draper, who mostly had a hard time serving more strongly and who could not avoid a clear loss of the set (6-2). Despite receiving medical attention to try to ease the discomfort, the Briton decided to retire after being in his second crash from the start and winning just one point.

“I felt the ball well and I’m very happy with that part of my tennis. I would say I fought back well and hit some big targets. I finished the match with confidence in my shots with the goal of going into the next round with more confidence,” the US Open champion celebrated.

He joined compatriot Alenjandro Davidovich in the top eight of the tournament, who defeated Chile’s Cristian Garín comfortably 6-3, 6-4. The man from Malaga, currently the 28th player in the world, needed barely an hour and 24 minutes to settle the match that started 5-1. Despite the South American’s break in the seventh game, the Spaniard did not drop a set.

Already in the second set, Davidovich reacted after Garín managed to take a 2-4 lead; he won the next four games and finished the fight for a meeting in the quarter-finals with the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who won against the German Alexander Zverev in his contested match (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5).