By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World no. 13 male-ranked tennis player Jack Draper just pulled off the biggest upset during the semifinal stage of the BNP Paribas Indian Wells Open after stunning defending champion Carlos Alcaraz- 6.1, 0.6, 6.4- to advance to the grand finals on March 16, 2025.
Seeking a three-peat at the Indian Wells Garden in California, Alcaraz’s bid for that feat abruptly ended when Draped handed him a 2-1 loss.
Draper was oozing with confidence as early as the opening set, taking advantage of Alcaraz’s slow start after accumulating tons of unforced errors during the baseline exchanges.
What separated Draper from Alcaraz in the opener was his more efficient down-the-line forehand bombs that became his bread and butter throughout the crucial semifinal match.
Aside from his booming attacks, Draper also kicked off the match with two break points, holding his ground with simple wrist flick chops that prevented Alcaraz from scoring quickly in his service possessions.
However, the two-time Indian Wells Open king woke up in the following set, swiftly equalizing the matchup with a completed beat down on Draper.
Alcaraz finally got it going with his groundstroke game and was more consistent with his first service power where two of his three total aces came.
With the mano-a-mano all knotted at 1-all, Draper saved the best for last after reverting to the strategy that helped him rake the first set.
From a passive approach when he just kept on waiting on what Alcaraz was trying to give him, Draper this time dictated the tempo of the match in the third and final set.
Draper waved off his return game and initiated the baseline exchanges with tons of lethal down-the-line shots. Alcaraz was caught off guard and turned into a volleying defender, an adjustment that cost him the game and his three-peat aspirations.
The brave challenger was automatic from the offensive department and capped off his momentum-boosting semifinal win with 72 points won and 31 receiving points won.
On the other hand, Alcaraz also flaunted his scoring bag with 67 successful points but committed an uncharacteristic tally of four double faults.
