Carlos Alcaraz extended his perfect start to 2026 by reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year on Wednesday, defeating Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (7/2).
World No. 1 Alcaraz, who lifted the trophy at the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 in the California desert in 2023 and 2024, was invincible in the first set, summoning winners from every corner of the court.
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In the third game, after two unlikely lob winners left the fans breathless, he made it 4-0 with a backhand volley winner that was out of Rudd’s reach.
“Honestly, my first set, I didn’t think I could compete,” Alcaraz said. “I’m really, really happy to be playing at that level.”
Ruud stepped up the intensity in the second set, but even he could only smile when Alcaraz led 5-1 in the decider with another backhand leaping volley, and the Spaniard ended the match with a backhand winner.
“To be honest, the conditions were difficult,” said Alcaraz, who earned a hard-fought three-set victory over Arthur Lindeknecht in the third round on a freezing night.
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“(It was) really hot…the ball was hard to control. It came super fast and bounced super high. But I thought we played great, both of us.”
Alcaraz, 22, became the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open.
He followed that up with a Qatar Open title and three wins in Indian Wells, now sitting at 15-0 on the season.
Alcaraz will compete for a semifinal spot against No. 29 British player Cameron Norrie, who beat Australian qualifier Hijikata Rinke 6-4, 6-2.
Norrie won the Indian Wells title in 2021, but the event was postponed until October due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The experienced Englishman opted to return serve in the first game and took advantage of a nervous start from the 117th-ranked Hijikata to earn the only break of the first set.
Hijikata held serve, but Norrie saved the only break point he faced to take the handicap and broke twice in the second set to cruise to victory.
Later on Wednesday, five-time champion Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of Indian Wells for the first time since his last title win in 2016, when he faced defending champion Jack Draper.
Djokovic, playing his first match since losing to Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, had to fight through two three-set battles to reach the fourth round for the first time in nine years.
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In Draper, he faced a player who was on his way back. The Briton’s win at Indian Wells last year lifted his ranking to fourth in the world.
But then he missed the better part of six months with an arm injury and defended his title with a 14th-place finish.
The winner of this match will face 11th-ranked Russian Daniil Medvedev, a two-time Indian Wells finalist who defeated 21-year-old American Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4.
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