Carlos Alcaraz predicts Jack Draper to be ‘one of the toughest rivals’ in the future
Before his Indian Wells campaign, the in-form Brit Jack Draper had reached the finals of the 2025 Qatar Open.
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Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz (via X)
Carlos Alcaraz has made it to the semifinals of the 2025 Indian Wells tournament, where he will meet Jack Draper. This will mark their fifth meeting on court with the Spaniard leading their head-to-head 3-1. They last met earlier this year at the Australian Open, where Draper sadly had to retire during their fourth-round match.
The upcoming match will be Draper’s first semifinal in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, as he has never reached beyond the fourth round before. Draper has had a pretty impressive performance recently, which has even led to World No. 3 Alcaraz commenting on how he would be one of the toughest rivals on tour in the future.
He has a lot of pace and great shots, and I think his style of play suits these conditions quite well. His topspin forehand bounces a lot, and he also has a great serve. I think he’s been injured twice in the past few games against him, especially this last one in Australia, so I’m excited to face him again. He seems to be in really good shape right now; he’s ambitious, as he’s always been. That makes him a very tough opponent. I’m sure he’ll be one of the toughest rivals on tour in the future or next year. I’m very happy to share this kind of moment with him; I think it’ll be a great match to watch.
Carlos Alcaraz said to the Indian Wells Press
After the Australian Open, Jack Draper competed in the Qatar Open, where he lost to Andrey Rublev in the finals. This marked the fifth final of Draper’s career. The Brit has to date won two titles on tour, which were at Vienna and Stuttgart last year.
After the Qatar Open, Draper then moved on to Indian Wells, where he has defeated several higher-ranked players like Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz on his way to the semifinals. Draper, like Alcaraz, has not dropped a set so far at Indian Wells this year. Their upcoming semifinal match will also mark their second meeting at Indian Wells, with their first meeting in the Californian desert being in 2023, which Alcaraz won.
Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells
Carlos Alcaraz is eyeing a three-peat at Indian Wells. This feat has only been accomplished by Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer so far. On his way to the semifinals this year, Alcaraz has defeated Quentin Halys, Denis Shapovalov, Grigor Dimitrov, and Francisco Cerundolo.
The winner of the semifinal match between Alcaraz and Draper will face either Holger Rune or Daniil Medvedev in the finals. Alcaraz won his last two titles at Indian Wells by defeating Medvedev in the finals.
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2025 season
Carlos Alcaraz started off his 2025 season with the Australian Open, where he was aiming to become the youngest man to achieve a career Grand Slam, a record currently held by his compatriot Rafael Nadal, who accomplished this feat at the age of 24 after winning the US Open in 2010.
However, Alcaraz’s quest for a fifth Grand Slam title was halted at the quarterfinals after facing defeat from an injury-marred Novak Djokovic.
The 21-year-old then went on to make his debut at the Rotterdam Open. He clinched his first indoor title with this tournament, after defeating Alex de Minaur in the finals. Before arriving at Indian Wells, Alcaraz also made his debut at the Qatar Open, where he reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, losing to Jiri Lehecka.
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