Draper upsets Alcaraz, faces Rune in surprising Indian Wells final

Jack Draper is a Masters 1000 finalist. He will also be a top-10 player on Monday.

Draper accomplished both of those feats when he stunned Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday afternoon. The British left-hander needed one hour and 44 minutes to set up a showdown in the title match against Holger Rune.

Only one set was competitive, as the two players traded beatdowns in the first and second. Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion of the Indian Wells Masters, could hardly find the court early in the match. Roles were reversed in set two, when the Spaniard started to get in a groove while Draper appeared to hit a wall both physically and mentally.

That set the stage for a more dramatic decider, although for a moment it looked Draper would run away with it. Just like the case against Taylor Fritz in round four, the world No 14 led by a double-break with the finish line in sight only to get broken when trying to serve it out.

And just like against Fritz, the double-break also came in handy against Alcaraz. After dropping serve at 5-2, Draper got another chance at 5-4. This time the 23-year-old made no mistake, sealing with deal with a convincing hold.

“It was a strange match in all honesty,” Draper assured. “Carlos came out, he was a bit flat. The first set went very quickly and then I had a chance in the first game of the second set. He came up with an ace. It kind of happened to me what happened to him in the first set. Against the top players in the world, they can change the momentum very quickly. Somehow I managed to get over the line in the end.

“The first time (I served for it), I worked so hard to break in that game to go 5-2. I was still physically a bit struggling and from the nerves. Obviously (there was) a lot riding on it — top 10 for me and stuff. Against Carlos there’s no room for error. I did well to come through the second time.”

The No 13 seed will climb to eighth in the rankings next week if he wins and ninth if he loses. His career-high ranking at the moment is No 12.

Draper and Rune will be squaring off for just the second time in their career on Sunday. The Dane dominated their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Cincinnati Masters.

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