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 Jack Draper extended his title defense in dramatic fashion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday.
The 14th-seeded Briton defeated third-seeded Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to advance to the quarterfinals.
Draper has only faced Djokovic once before, at Wimbledon in 2021, but it was his first win over the 24-time major champion.
An arm injury has kept Draper out since the first round of the US Open last summer, but he returned two weeks ago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he advanced to the second round.
Now he has a clear victory over a legend of the game.
“Being in court again these past few weeks has been emotional for me and I’m so grateful,” Draper said. “To be here playing against Novak, for me the greatest tennis player and someone I have admired and watched since I was little, makes me incredibly proud of myself to be able to do that.”
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz didn’t find it difficult to advance to the quarterfinals as he dominated his serve during a 6-1, 7-6(2) win over 12th seed Casper Ruud.
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’s next opponent is Draper.
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
