Jack Draper secured the most significant final of his career with an impressive win over Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells, with a bit of assistance from a review system that is similar to the video assistant referee.
Draper, 23, has reached the top ten in the world rankings for the first time in his career with his 6-1, -6, 6-4 win. He will now battle against Holger Rune in the finals.
With his win, Draper said: “I feel incredible obviously to beat Carlos in this sort of stage in the tournament on that court… I have watched the top players in the world play on that court for many, many years now, and it feels amazing, honestly, both those things.”
He added: “I’m proud of myself but I’m already thinking about the final. I want to end this week in a great way. We can think about the other stuff afterwards.”
Highlights of the match
Draper got off to a strong start and easily won the first set. However, Alcaraz quickly recovered and responded by claiming the second set.
The match’s most intense moment came in the third game of the final set, with the scoreline at 1-1 and 15-15. Umpire Mohamed Lahyani initially ruled that the ball had bounced twice before Draper got to the drop shot, but after reviewing the replays, it was clear that the call had been wrong.
Draper used the video technology available at Indian Wells – something that is not available at every ATP event – to challenge the call. After the review, the umpire’s decision was changed, and Lahyani ordered the point to be replayed. But Draper protested the umpire’s decision, complaining about the delay in the “not up” call.
The umpire then looked at the video again, and after a second review just minutes after the first, he admitted that his call had been late, giving Draper the point for 15-30. Draper broke serve in that game and went on to finish the match, successfully serving it out on his second try.
Alcaraz did not hide his disappointment after losing the match and admitted: “I am upset about myself, about the way that I approached the match, the way that I felt during the whole day, that I couldn’t calm down myself… That’s for me the most disappointed thing that I’m feeling right now, because I mean, it’s probably one of the worst sets that I have played in my whole career, the first set.”
In a social media post, Draper expressed his appreciation for his opponent by saying: “Huge respect to @carlitosalcarazz ..looking forward to many more battles !!”
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Alcaraz commented on the post and said: “Can’t wait for the revange! Good luck in the final! 🙏🏽”