March 11, 2026; Indian Wells, California, USA; Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) pumps his fist after defeating Casper Ruud (NOR) in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Image World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz dominated serve to beat 12th seed Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(2) in the round of 16 of the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells, California on Wednesday.
The Spaniard never faced a break point and lost just nine of his 49 service points, including 29 of 33 (87.9%) on his first service point. He fired seven aces.
The first set went very well, as he broke his Norwegian opponent’s serve twice to take a 4-0 lead. Ruud was better in the second set, holding serve throughout, but Alcaraz took the first four points of the tiebreaker before winning his second match point.
He will face Britain’s 27th seed Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals.
“I’m really happy to play at this level,” said Alcaraz, the youngest player to reach the semifinals five times and a two-time Indian Wells champion. “I’m really happy we were able to get through it and hopefully we can play at this level in the next round as well.
“It’s fun and you can enjoy it, but you can change your mind and refocus. You try to play your best tennis every moment, but when you have a point to laugh about, you have to do that. That’s what happened today. Casper hit a lot of good points and I had to enjoy it. That’s why we both play tennis.”
Norrie defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2. Norrie broke Hijikata’s serve three times in six opportunities and was 8 out of 13 in net points.
Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev also advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating American Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4. Medvedev will choose the winner between No. 3 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and No. 14 Jack Draper (Great Britain).
Medvedev finished with a 9-1 advantage on aces, saving four of five break points in the process. He was aggressive, hitting 34 winners and earning 9 out of 10 points.
“When I am confident, I become an aggressive player,” Medvedev said. “…So when I hit the ball the way I’m hitting it now, I can be aggressive and put a lot of pressure on the opponent and still be great on defense, and that’s what makes it difficult.”
Michelson, a 21-year-old California native, was competing for a second quarterfinal spot at the ATP 1000 event following last year’s Canadian Open.
“It’s a really great tournament,” Michelsen said. “I had to beat a lot of good players to get to the fourth round. Now I’m hitting good balls and playing against the guy I just talked about (Medvedev). It’s a tough matchup for me. That’s tennis. Life moves on to Miami in a few days. Yeah, I feel good.”
–Field level media
