Carlos Alcaraz, a two-time defending champion, fought through Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6(4) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters.
On a cold, blustery California night, Alcaraz had to rally from 1-4 down in the second set with a critical break and two love service holds to force a tiebreaker. The Spaniard is on track to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three straight titles at Indian Wells.
Alcaraz confronted break points in all three of his opening service games but flipped the script with a roaring hold for 4-3, then clinched the match’s first break with a deft volley. He clinched the first set with a booming forehand.
Cerundolo answered by breaking in the second set and taking a 4-1 lead. But Alcaraz countered, sprinting out to a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak before finishing the match.
“I’m trying, it was really difficult of a start,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t hit the ball as well as yesterday, but I did what I had to.”
The No 3 seed will now play Britain’s Jack Draper, who reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Ben Shelton.
