Everything seemed ready for Carlos Alcaraz's third title in a row at the 'BNP Paribas Open' in Indian Wells. The Spanish ace had reached the semifinals without losing a single set and his level had been impressive, which is why bookmakers and insiders had no doubt that he would repeat the successes of 2023 and 2024.
However, the former world No.1 sank against Jack Draper in a match characterized by many ups and downs. The 21-year-old from Murcia started the challenge in a really bad way and was practically non-existent in the first set, before reacting in the second set thanks to a sequence of very spectacular points that gave him back confidence.
The 4-time Grand Slam champion looked like he could complete his comeback, but the British player was more consistent in the third set to get the most special victory of his young career and reaching his first final in a Masters 1000.
Jack will face Holger Rune for the title today, while Carlitos will have to quickly get over this disappointment and be ready for the Miami Open next week.
The last time he was eliminated in the semifinals in California in 2022 Alcaraz had then won in Miami, which is why he hopes to repeat this feat in 2025.
Alcaraz loves football
Although the first Masters 1000 of the season ended with a surprising defeat which prevented him from doing the three-peat like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic the current world number 3 had a lot of fun in California and gave numerous interviews talking not only about tennis.
Everyone knows that the Spaniard is a big football fan and during an interview with 'Overtimetennis' he was asked to list his five favorite footballers of all time.
The star from Murcia mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Ronaldinho and Neymar. It is not surprising that Carlos did not choose Diego Maradona whom he has never seen play while the exclusion of Leo Messi is decidedly more surprising.
