Indian Wells, Calif. — Jack Draper defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the BNP Paribas Open Final.
The 13th seeded draper faces the 12th seed Holgar Rune on Sunday. Rune defeated fifth seed Danil Medvedev 7-6, 6-4 in his first semi-finals in his 150th Tour-level victory.
Draper concluded Alcaraz’s 16-game winning streak at the ATP Master 1000 event in the California Desert. 23-year-old British left-hander – to break into the top ten world for the first time on Monday – has won his only tour title in Vienna and Stuttgart in the past year. He’s 2-3 against Alkaraz.
“It was a strange match. Honestly, Carlos came out, he was a little flat, and I felt that,” Draper said in a TV statement.
“For the top players in the world, they can change momentum so quickly that they got lost there for 25 minutes and came out third. They were proud of their competitiveness, their attitude, and somehow they managed to get through the line there.”
Second seeded, Alkaraz missed the chance to become the youngest player to win three consecutive single titles at the ATP Tour event. The 21-year-old Spanish star won his 17th ATP Tour title in February in Rotterdam.
Rune, 21, from Denmark, hit a seven-game winning streak in the semi-finals. He’s 2-2 against Medvedev.
“That means everything,” Rune said. “The work isn’t finished yet, but it’s amazing. Playing Daniel is one of my toughest challenges on tour. I was able to beat him for the first time (we know each other well, but I obviously had the right tactics, but he’s very sturdy and very solid. So I’m very proud of myself.”
Rune has four ATP tour titles. His biggest victory took place in Paris in 2022 at another ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Medvedev won the final of 20 ATP Tour titles in 2023. The 29-year-old Russian lost to Alkaraz in the Indian Wells Finals over the past year.
This report uses information from Reuters.