Carlos Alcaraz admits chair umpire’s controversial not-up call against Jack Draper in Indian Wells semifinal didn’t ‘bother him at all’

Carlos Alcaraz was denied a chance to win three back-to-back Indian Wells titles by Jack Draper, who won the semifinal in three sets.

Carlos Alcaraz admits chair umpire’s controversial not-up call against Jack Draper in Indian Wells semifinal didn’t ‘bother him at all’

Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper (Image via X)

Carlos Alcaraz admitted that the controversial not-up call made by chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani didn’t affect him at all. Alcaraz was up against Jack Draper in the semifinal of Indian Wells on Saturday (March 15) when Lahyani’s interference awarded Draper the point.

When both players had won a set each and were 1-1 in the third set with both players clinching 15 points each, Draper was successful in returning Alcaraz’s drop shot but the latter failed to land the ball inside off his next shot. Before Alcaraz hit the shot, Lahyani made the not-up call to the dismay of Draper, who called for a review.

YouTube video

Lahyani saw that Draper was right in his claim that the ball had indeed bounced once. But the chair umpire wanted the players to replay the point as he thought his call affected the Spaniard. Draper was not ready to accept that as he was convinced that Lahyani’s call didn’t hinder Alcaraz from playing the point.

FS Video

He was eventually given the point. Alcaraz ended up losing the set and the match with a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 scoreline following which, he too admitted that he paid no heed to the umpire’s call during the rally.

Well, not really. I mean, I didn’t see if it was one bounce or two bounces at the beginning. So I was just waiting for the review. I mean, and after, you know, with the second review, it was in the middle of the point or after I hit it, so I wasn’t sure enough. So I didn’t hear, you know, while I was hitting the ball, but I wasn’t sure enough to say something.

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

Alcaraz was bidding to become the third player in the history of Men’s tennis to win three consecutive Indian Wells following Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Draper, with his win, has reduced the head-to-head record gap to 2-3.

And, you know, waiting for the ball reviews, they didn’t bother me at all. I mean, that way it was normal for the review, so all I can say is Jack came, he played much better than me. You know, that point didn’t affect my play at all.

Carlos Alcaraz added

Here’s the video of the incident:

Rennae Stubbs makes bold prediction after Jack Draper stuns Carlos Alcaraz

Jack Draper‘s win over Carlos Alcaraz impressed Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs. Stubbs took to X and made a bold prediction about the 23-year-old.

Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz
Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via ATP/X)

Jack Draper is going to win Wimbledon!

Rennae Stubbs wrote on X

Check out her post here:

Draper, however, has never progressed beyond the second round at Wimbledon. He reached the second round in 2022 and 2024.

Last year, the 2024 US Open semifinalist was knocked out of Wimbledon’s second round by compatriot Cameron Norrie in straight sets. Draper hasn’t yet reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament and produced his best when he advanced to the last four in last year’s US Open.

Jack Draper reaches top 10 in ATP live rankings after beating Carlos Alcaraz

A defeat in the Indian Wells final won’t hinder Jack Draper from claiming a spot in the top 10. After eliminating Carlos Alcaraz, Draper climbed six places up to No.8 position in the ATP live rankings with 3,450 points. He will be a top 10 player for the first time in his career when the rankings will get updated on Monday.

Jack Draper
Jack Draper (Image via X)

The Brit will face Holger Rune next. He has faced the Dane just once, in the quarterfinals of last year’s Cincinnati Masters, and lost the match. The 21-year-old, prior to reaching his first Indian Wells final, knocked out two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.