“The opponent doesn’t know what’s coming next,” Carlos Alcaraz is all set to take on the semifinals at Indian Wells with daunting confidence

The defending champion avenged his Australian Open loss as he dispatched Zverev in straight-sets to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

“The opponent doesn’t know what’s coming next,” Carlos Alcaraz is all set to take on the semifinals at Indian Wells with daunting confidence

Carlos Alcaraz (Image via IMAGO)

World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz continues his title defense campaign at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters. On Thursday, the second seed shot down World No. 6 and sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz won the match 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour 29 minutes. It was his fourth win in nine matches against Zverev. Their previous encounter took place in the quarter-finals of the recently concluded 2024 Australian Open. The World No. 6 had convincingly outplayed the 20-year-old in Melbourne.

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But the Spaniard got his revenge this time around. He won 64 of the possible 102 points in the match. This included 18 winners to Zverev’s 10 and 13 unforced errors to the German’s 26. Zverev couldn’t set up a single breakpoint against Alcaraz. The second seed, instead, won four of his five breakpoints.

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The win now continues Alcaraz’s unbeaten streak in the Californian desert to 10 matches. He has dropped just one set in these matches, with Matteo Arnaldi taking him to the third set in this year’s second-round tie.

Since 2022, Alcaraz has lost just once. He has dropped a set just twice in the 15 matches that he has played in since then. From his 16 matches at the Masters-1000 event, he currently has a 14-2 record. 

I’m really, really happy with the level that I’m playing. The way I’m using the court, I think is really important for me, for my game. The opponent doesn’t know what’s going to come next.
Said Alcaraz, speaking during his on-court interview. 
Probably I’m going to return inside the court, in the deep parts. It’s kind of confusing for them. That’s my style, that’s my game.
Added the Spaniard.

Carlos Alcaraz to face 2024’s most in-form player in the semis

Since 2004, only two men have managed to defend their Indian Wells singles title. Roger Federer achieved the feat with a hattrick of titles from 2004 to 2006. The record was matched a decade later by Novak Djokovic, who also won three titles on the trot from 2014 to 2016.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via IMAGO)

Since then, no other player has managed to defend his title. For Alcaraz, things are only getting tougher. He will now take on World No. 3 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. The current Australian Open winner is on a 19-match winning streak which began at the 2023 Davis Cup.

He is 16-0 for this season. As for Alcaraz, the Spaniard is 10-3 going into that semi-final. With Sinner also holding a tender 4-3 lead in their head-to-head, there’s a lot at stake in the match, which could well be the potential title decider.

The third seed defeated in-form Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals. Sinner won the match 6-3, 6-3, and made the semi-finals at Indian Wells in consecutive years. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two flag-bearers of tennis in the coming years.

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