Carlos Alcaraz reaches the quarterfinals in Indian Wells

MADRID, 14 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz qualified this Tuesday for the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells tournament (United States), the first Masters 1,000 of the season, after the withdrawal of his rival, the British Jack Draper when he had already clearly won the first set (6-2) and dominated the second, thus joining his compatriot Alejandro Davidovich who got rid of Chilean Cristian Garín (6-3, 6-4).

The Murcian player took another step towards winning the title and returning to number one in the world, although now he will have his first big exam in the Californian event as he will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, eighth favorite and who has defeated him in their last two meetings, both on indoor hard courts, in the Davis Cup group stage held in Valencia and Basel (Switzerland).

"Honestly, the nerves are there, but you have to manage that and I would say I managed them very well in this match. That's my goal to show that I'm relaxed, to play relaxed. It's something that I'm also practicing for, to play my tennis and to relax. If I lose, I lose, but I want to feel relaxed on the track", admitted Alcaraz after his second game in statements collected by the ATP website.

The number two in the world, a semifinalist last year against Rafa Nadal in this Masters 1,000, was prepared for the demands that the left-handed Draper was going to try to submit to him, but he attended the event physically diminished in the abdominal area after his previous round against Andy Murray.

Despite this, the tennis player from El Palmar came out very focused on the court and his blows did a lot of damage to the British, who accepted the exchange and who, despite losing his first serve, enjoyed an optimal 0-40 in the next one that the Spanish did not allow him to take advantage.

Alcaraz maintained his level and achieved a new break against a Draper who mainly had a hard time being able to serve with more force and who could not avoid losing the set clearly (6-2). Despite receiving medical attention to try to alleviate the discomfort, the British decided to leave after being down in the second already at the start and having won only one point.

"I felt the ball very well and I am very happy with that part of my tennis. I would say that I returned well and that I hit some great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots with a view to moving on to the next round with more confidence", celebrated the US Open champion.

He joined compatriot Alenjandro Davidovich in the tournament's top eight, who defeated Chilean Cristian Garín comfortably 6-3, 6-4. The man from Malaga, current number 28 in the world, barely needed an hour and 24 minutes to settle the match, which started 5-1. Despite the break of the South American in the seventh game, the Spaniard did not miss the set.

Already in the second set, Davidovich reacted after Garín managed to lead 2-4; He won the next four games and ended the contest to meet in the quarterfinals with the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who prevailed in their disputed duel against the German Alexander Zverev (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7- 5).