Draper beats Alcaraz, sets up Indian Wells final vs Rune

Jack Draper delivered a stunning performance at the Indian Wells Open on Saturday, ending Carlos Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak to book his place in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The British No. 1 entered his maiden Masters semi-final as a significant underdog, priced at +225 by top online sportsbooks, but overcame the odds with a composed 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 victory over the defending champion.

His win sets up a highly anticipated final against Holger Rune on Sunday.

With the result, Draper also achieves a major career milestone, breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time and rising to No. 8 in the live rankings.

“I feel incredible obviously to beat Carlos in this sort of stage in the tournament on that court,” Draper said after the match.

“You know, I have watched the top players in the world play on that court for many, many years now, and it feels amazing.

“Obviously I’ve got one more to go tomorrow, so all my sort of feelings and emotions on that, but obviously very proud of myself and the achievement.”

The match was not without controversy, as a disputed double bounce call in the third set caused some on-court tension.

At 1-1, 15-15, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani ruled that Draper had failed to reach an Alcaraz dropshot before the second bounce.

However, a video review showed that the Brit had in fact made contact with the ball in time. Instead of awarding the point to Draper, the umpire opted to replay it, leading to protests from the 23-year-old.

“If Carlos would have said to me that it would have affected his shot, and what have you, then of course I would have replayed the point,” Draper said.

“Of course, like, it is something I try and do and try and be fair and try and make the right calls.”

Alcaraz, however, dismissed the incident as having any impact on the result.

“I mean, I didn’t see if it was one bounce or two bounces at the beginning,” he said. “So I was just waiting for the review.

“That way it was normal for the review, so all I can say is Jack came, he played much better than me.

“You know, that point didn’t affect, you know, for my play at all.”

Draper will now face Denmark’s Holger Rune in the Indian Wells final, heading in as a slight favorite.

He is currently listed at -164 with Nags.bet to win his first Masters 1000 title, while Rune, a former Masters champion, is priced at +130 with the tennis betting sites to claim his second.

SPORTS BETTING PICKS