Draper devours semi-final bagel to finally school Alcaraz

Jack Draper will crack the ATP top 10 for the first time after the Brit defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 at Indian Wells on Saturday to reach a career-first Masters 1000 final.

The player who will rise to eighth in the ranking will bid for the biggest title of his life when he faces Holger Rune after the Dane defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-4.

The semi-final was a roller-coaster affair, with Draper needing just 24 minutes to sweep the opener against the Spaniard who had won the last two editions here.

But the momentum was dramatically reversed in the second, with Alcaraz dominating to hand Draper the first 0-6 set of his entire career.

But the British No. 1 gathered his resources in the deciding third, going up a double break, losing as he served for victory but coming good on his second chance with a serve winner.

Victory ended the 16-match win streak of Alcaraz here and will send Draper into the ranking elite.

The Briton called his win “a strange match. He came out flat and I could sense that. But it changed in the second and that’s what happened to me.”

Draper added: “I was low on energy and top players like Carlos can change momentum quickly.

“In the third I was proud of my competitive energy, I got over the line in the end.”

Draper said he had his troubles after sweeping the first set. “I was physically struggling when I tried to serve out the match the first time, especially with a lot of nerves.

“There was a lot riding on the match with no room for error. There was a lot of pressure on my mind but I did well to come through.”

Main photo:- Jack Draper celebrates win over Carlos Alcaraz – by ISF Ltd