Ten years after an 11-year-old Jack Draper watched Andy Murray win the 2013 Wimbledon title from the Centre Court stands, the fast-rising British star will meet his idol-turned-friend for the first time on the ATP Tour Monday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Now 21, Draper has praised the three-time Grand Slam champion from the first time the media’s cameras and microphones were trained on him — a routine he is becoming accustomed to as he soars up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, breaking into the Top 40 for the first time earlier this year after reaching the Adelaide semi-finals.

Murray has returned the favour, most recently on Saturday: “I think he’s going to be a top, top player for a long time,” predicted the Scot, who has proven to have a keen eye for spotting world-class talent. Ahead of the 2022 US Open, where Draper reached the third round for his best Grand Slam result, Murray discussed the 6-foot-4 lefty’s well-rounded game, giving particular credit to his return and movement at his size.

Speaking with ATPTour.com and members of the British press following his 6-4, 6-2 win against countryman Daniel Evans on Saturday in Indian Wells, Draper explained his history with Murray and how their relationship has evolved.

“I’ve sort of had two stages with Andy,” he explained. “[The first was] when I was younger, watching him win Wimbledon for the first time on Centre Court. It was inspiring. I wanted to be like him, someone that I was looking up to all the time… a bit starstruck when I saw him a few times at first.

“And then during lockdown I became a better player and I was able to practise with him more. From there, we’ve practised together loads. I’d like to say he’s a good friend and, again, still someone that I look up to and someone that I receive advice from all the time. I think he just tells me to enjoy the journey a little bit. I think that’s what he’s doing now, he’s enjoying his time on court a little more than he did. He’s an amazing champion and a very good human being as well.”

Draper may have had the perfect preparation for his third-round matchup with Murray in his win against Evans, during which he felt nerves and numb legs at times due to the pair’s close relationship. The Briton holds a 2-2 tour-level record against British opponents, including a win against Ryan Peniston and two defeats to Cameron Norrie.

“He’s obviously someone that I have a lot of banter with and he’s a friend,” Draper said of Evans. “It’s never nice competing against someone that you spend a lot of time with. But I guess that’s part of tennis. You’ve got to be able to play your compatriots and I thought I did a good job and I generally enjoyed the battle as well.”

Draper spent time with Evans and Norrie last month when he was named to the Great Britain Davis Cup team for the first time, though he did not compete in his nation’s 3-1 win against Colombia. After beating Evans in Indian Wells, Draper is looking forward to seeing another friendly face across the net when he plays Murray — who famously led Great Britain to its 10th Davis Cup title in 2015, winning all 11 rubbers he played.

“In all honestly I’d love to play Andy,” Draper said, before the 35-year-old closed out a 6-4, 6-3 win against Radu Albot. “I think playing him on one of the biggest stages in tennis, it’s something that I’ll be looking forward to, especially after today.

“Let’s make it another British affair. I think he’d be incredibly tough to beat, as usual, but it’s something that I’m looking forward to if I get to play him.”

While Draper is making his Indian Wells debut — “It’s a tournament I’ve been watching since I was really young. It’s fulfilled all my expectations of how good it would be,” he said — Murray is competing in the desert for the 15th time, his best result a final run in 2009 (l. to Nadal). Before the event, 46-time-time tour-level champ Murray singled out the BNP Paribas Open trophy as the one he most covets among those he has yet to win. On the opposite end of his career, Draper is seeking his first ATP Tour title this week.

Ahead of one of the biggest matches of his young tennis life, Draper can take some comfort from his many hitting sessions with Murray, as well as the pair’s matchup at the Battle of the Brits last December, an exhibition tournament played in Aberdeen. Murray won that match by the slimmest of margins in a Match Tie-break, after which the pair shared a warm embrace.

“I kind of felt like it was good to play Andy in a couple of sets,” Draper reflected. “But for one thing, it was an exhibition, that match. And also at the same time, we’d just come off the back off preseason, so we were both pretty tired from putting a lot of work in.

“But I expect the match on Monday to be an extremely tricky one. He’s come through a lot of matches recently, he’s playing with confidence and I think his body’s in a really good place as well at the moment.”

Murray has won all seven deciding sets he’s played this season, saving a mountain of match points along the way. He notched his first straight-sets win of the year against Albot.

Adding just a bit of extra spice to Monday’s marquee matchup: The winner will end the day ahead of the other in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, just outside the Top 40.

Did You Know?
Late last year, Draper hit with YouTube star and aspiring pro Felix Mischker, who is chronicling his journey to his first Pepperstone ATP Rankings point on his channel. Mischker documented their session in a YouTube video that has 159,000 views and counting.

“I found out I was hitting with him and then he asked if he could film the session. It was really good to get to know him a little bit more,” Draper said of the 19-year-old Briton.

“He’s got obviously the channel on YouTube which I think is really good. That shows tennis in a bit of a different way. A lot of times you see tennis from the highest echelons. But at the same time, people sometimes don’t really appreciate the journey of an aspiring pro and what that’s like. It’s really difficult, financially, working day in day out, playing the Futures. 

“It’s not all strawberries and cream; it’s really difficult out there. I think it shows it a little bit from that perspective and I think he does a really good job of shining a light on that aspect and I think he’s a really popular kid on there. It was good to play with him and he’s a really nice guy.”

Two streaks ended for Daniil Medvedev on Sunday night at the BNP Paribas Open, but not the one that really mattered. When Ilya Ivashka won the second set against the fifth seed, it ended Medvedev’s 18-set winning run and his seven-set streak against the World No. 85.

But the four-time ATP Masters 1000 champion regrouped to secure a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 result, scoring his 16th straight victory to advance to the fourth round, where he will meet Alexander Zverev. His progress to the last 16 matches his best Indian Wells result from 2021.

The matchup against Zverev, the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting since Zverev’s victory in the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, will break a 6-6 tie in the series.

“I think our match could be a lot of rallies. Let’s see. It’s going to be interesting,” Medvedev previewed. “I feel like he’s playing better and better, which is normal after a tough injury. He’s someone who was one of the best players on Tour, going kind of close to World No. 1, started playing better and better in Grand Slams.

“His injury was unfortunate but I’m sure he’s going to come back. Hopefully next match I can be the winner and I can play some good tennis.”

It was business as usual at the start, with Medvedev breaking in the opening game of a straightforward first set. He broke again to open the second set, only for Ivashka to break back from 40/15 to spark a run of eight straight points and flip the feeling on the stadium court.

Strong serving kept Medvedev in the set, but Ivashka was on top in the many long rallies as his opponent grew frustrated with what he felt were slow conditions in the desert night. A loose service game handed a break to Ivashka, who served out the set to love to force a decider.

“[In the] second set I don’t feel like I was playing bad,” Medvedev said post-match. “It’s just that you hit 10 good shots in the rally and it could be not enough. That’s tough.”

Just when it appeared Medvedev had a battle on his hands, he rediscovered the form that propelled him to titles in each of his past three ATP Tour events (Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai). He raced to a 5-0 lead in the final set, locking in from the baseline to blunt Ivashka’s power game, and served out the win after Ivashka avoided a bagel with a 0/40 escape, completing the job on his fifth match point.

Medvedev finished with eight aces and six double faults, those statistics underlining an up-and-down performance at the year’s first ATP Masters 1000. But as champions do, he played his best when it mattered most.

Ugo Humbert has proven himself Top-10 kryptonite during his career, but Andrey Rublev faced no such difficulty Sunday.

The World No. 7 eliminated the Frenchman 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open. He will face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie for a place in the quarter-finals.

“Completely different, even if he’s left-handed as well, but he’s different. Cameron reminds me a bit of Medvedev to be honest,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “He likes to play really low and flat with the backhand. He likes to counter-attack, wait for you to do mistakes, to force you to go for extra shots. So we’ll see. It’s going to be a really tough match and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

Rublev will take a 2-1 ATP Head2Head lead into his clash with Norrie, as well as confidence from a solid performance against Humbert. The Frenchman, who is now 7-7 against Top 10 opposition, surged to an immediate break advantage.

But it was all Rublev from there. The sixth seed converted four of his six break chances to earn revenge for a loss against Humbert in the Halle final two years ago.

“He started really well. He broke me and I was thinking, ‘I don’t know, probably today is not my day.’ I was not feeling the ball really well in there beginning because the first match I played at night and it was completely different conditions today,” Rublev said. “But then I started to say, ‘Okay it’s not my day, he’s better and that’s it.’

“And somehow I made a few returns, I broke him back and then I started to feel confident. I started to play even better. I started to serve better and in the end, little by little, I was able to finish on a good level.”

Norrie had a tougher time in a 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2 triumph over qualifier Taro Daniel, who led by a set and a break. The British lefty kept his hopes of a second Indian Wells title alive behind 11 aces and seven service breaks.

Norrie has plenty of momentum after winning the biggest clay-court title of his career at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, where he clawed past Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Tallon Griekspoor knows he faces a great challenge Monday at the BNP Paribas Open, where he will play top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. But it is a test the Dutchman is excited for.

“I really do [like the challenge]. I enjoy those matches, I enjoy the big stadiums. I enjoy the moments of playing these guys,” Griekspoor told ATPTour.com. “I prefer to play on Court 1 rather than Court 7. It’s not always a good sign to play on Court 1, but I like the challenge of playing those guys. I feel like those are the matches that make you better.”

The 26-year-old has played plenty of top-tier opponents this season, from Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas to Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner. Last year at Wimbledon, he lost to Alcaraz in straight sets.

“Wasn’t my best match, I lost in three. I thought that on grass, if you want to beat the guy at some surface, it would have been grass in my eyes. But he played well there, I didn’t play too great,” Griekspoor said. “He’s one of the best players in the world, that’s for sure. He’s so young. He’s injured, he comes back straight away, he plays so well. So it’s going to be really tough, but at the end I really like the challenge of playing him. Why not?”

Griekspoor believes that the sheer quality of Alcaraz’s physical game is daunting, from his power and speed to his drop shot and ability to mix things up with tactics like serving and volleying.

“He has basically the whole package. I don’t know what he doesn’t have. He has everything,” Griekspoor said. “I think the physical part is unbelievable and I think mentally, for his age, he’s really far [ahead]. I cannot give you one weak point of his game. He showed it already for a whole year or two years already, showed the whole world why he’s one of the best players.

“He’s just a talent. I think it’s not even good to compare people with him because I think he’s just [at] another level. He’s one of those guys. Unbelievable player, that’s for sure.”

Griekspoor has been impressive himself this year. At a career-high No. 36 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, he won his first ATP Tour title in Pune and made the semi-finals in Rotterdam to contribute to a 13-4 record.

“I’m feeling good. Winning a lot of matches, winning my first title, making the third round of a Slam, really good week at home in Rotterdam,” Griekspoor said. “Those are things that help a lot [to] give you a good mood. It gives you confidence, playing well, winning matches that I need to win. Not much to complain [about].”

The Dutchman points to his work ethic as one of the biggest contributors to the success. Not only does he work hard, but he relishes doing so. However, that has not always been the case.

“I remember I had private lessons and I was asking my coach every five minutes ‘What is the time?’ I wanted to be done, I wanted to go home, to go and play on the PlayStation,” Griekspoor said. “At that point you are 14, 15, 16, whatever. You are so young. I didn’t really always enjoy the tennis at that time. You went to school, you had fun at school. I had to go to practice and all my friends were having fun together.

“I guess now it paid off, but I was not always the guy who enjoyed tennis the most when I was younger. Now I do enjoy it a lot, I can’t imagine life without it. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

There was not one particular moment when his mindset shifted. Gradually over time, he realised what was necessary.

“When I was young, I was a little bit of a spoiled kid. I had some talent, everybody said, ‘Okay, you have talent.’ But at some point you realise, ‘Okay, you have the talent, but you need to work hard,’” Griekspoor said. “Since then I have enjoyed the hard work. I enjoy the tough moments on court and I feel like those tough moments are giving so much more joy to the good moments.”

What is a sign of his dedication? Griekspoor admitted that the first day of each preseason he often throws up. Once his short holiday is off at the end of the year, it is right back to business. That has been clear in his 2023 performance.

“I really believe in hard work paying off in the end. If I look at myself [at the] end of last year, I was not winning a lot of matches, but I was not playing badly. I was playing alright, I just lost all of the close ones, three sets,” Griekspoor said. “This year I’ve won all of them. I feel like [much] hasn’t changed.

“I just feel like hard work is paying off. I’m just trying to keep working hard every day, pushing myself, the people around me are pushing me. I feel like this is probably the biggest [reason for my] success this year.”

Cristian Garin made it 10 sets played, 10 sets won at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open on Sunday afternoon. It is the Chilean’s latest straight-sets victory that may make the rest of the field sit up and take notice at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells.

The former World No. 17 Garin, who came through two qualifying matches to book a spot in the main draw in Indian Wells, sealed a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory against third seed Casper Ruud to reach the fourth round for the first time at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“With a full stadium, and to play like this today against Casper, who is one of the players that I really admire on Tour, I am so, so happy to keep playing like that,” said Garin. “Aggressive, going to the net, I think that’s the way that I like to play and the only way that I have to beat these kinds of players. I’m just so happy and I want to keep improving and keep enjoying this tournament.”

After qualifying without losing a set and then dropping just 10 games across his opening two main-draw matches, the Chilean showed few nerves when presented with his toughest test yet in California. He outhit Ruud by 39 winners to 17 to notch his third win against a Top 10 opponent, his first since 2021, and his first on a hard court.

Garin will look to keep his run going in Indian Wells when he takes on 13th seed Karen Khachanov or 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina next. Should he triumph, he would advance to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after also reaching that stage at the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters, the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, and the 2022 Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

More to follow…

Since making his tour-level debut in 2020, Carlos Alcaraz has consistently entertained with his all-court game. During his second-round win against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, the 19-year-old Spaniard once again brought the fans to their feet, hitting a series of stunning winners to advance.

“I try to make the people enjoy watching tennis, and I think the way that I play, they love it or it seems like that,” said Alcaraz, who received raucous support throughout his 76-minute win. “I felt the love from the people. I think the US Open helped me a lot, to have a lot of people behind me, supporting me. I would say the way that I play, they love to watch.”

The Spaniard reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells last year and knows that a run to his third ATP Masters 1000 title this fortnight in California will lift him back to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The 19-year-old rose to top spot in September after winning the US Open, remaining there for 20 weeks before Novak Djokovic replaced him after capturing the Australian Open crown.

Alcaraz is refusing to look too far ahead, though, with full focus on his upcoming match against Tallon Griekspoor.

“I think that’s the most important part of my game, to stay relaxed and go for it and not to think about the mistakes, the points, the rounds,” Alcaraz said. “Just, let’s say, live [in] the moment, play the match, and go for it. That’s the goal in this tournament for me.”

Last month, the top seed clinched his seventh tour-level title in Buenos Aires before he advanced to the final in Rio de Janeiro, where he picked up a right hamstring injury. Any injury doubts were put to bed against Kokkinakis, with Alcaraz moving freely throughout.

“Yeah, I recovered really well. It seems today that I move really well. I felt really comfortable playing here. More movement here,” Alcaraz said. “So I think I’m ready and totally recovered from the injury.”

Third-round action commences on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open, where Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev continue their title quests at the first ATP Masters 1000 of the season.

The 2021 Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie, 12th-seeded German Alexander Zverev and 14th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe will also take to court in a packed schedule.

ATPTour.com runs through some of the key third-round matchups on show in California.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[5] Daniil Medvedev vs. Ilya Ivashka

Chasing his fourth title in a row, Medvedev made the perfect start in Indian Wells on Friday when he brushed aside 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-3. The fifth seed has now won his past 15 matches, having captured hard-court titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai in the past month.

Medvedev has never been beyond the fourth round in five previous appearances in California, but was pleased with his opening performance against American Nakashima.

Medvedev will look to build on that victory against Ilya Ivashka and grind down the 29-year-old with his brick wall defence. The World No. 6 Medvedev leads the 29-year-old 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, having won their past three meetings. Ivashka arrived in Indian Wells 0-5 on the season, but has not dropped a set in his opening two matches this week.

[3] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [Q] Cristian Garin (CHI)

Ruud enters his third-round match against Cristian Garin off the back of a confidence-boosting win against Diego Schwartzman. The Norwegian arrived in Indian Wells holding a 3-4 record on the season, but looked sharp against the Argentine to reach the third round for the third consecutive season.

Ruud opted to undertake a training block in February following the Australian Open and believes the effects of that are now starting to kick in.

“I feel like you do a training block for four or five weeks and you might not get the exact result you want right away. It might take a week, it might take a month, before you feel physically fresh and ready. I think I’m starting to get there,” Ruud said.

The World No. 4, who reached the final at the hard-court Masters 1000 in Miami last season, has not enjoyed much success against his next opponent Garin. The Chilean, who did not drop a set in his opening two matches, leads Ruud 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. However, the Norwegian did beat Garin in their only hard-court meeting last year.

[6] Andrey Rublev vs. Ugo Humbert (FRA)

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev is a 12-time tour-level champion but he is still chasing his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Eager to change that record, he produced a dominant display against Jiri Lehecka in the second round, downing the Czech 6-4, 6-2.

Next up for the 2022 semi-finalist is French lefty Ugo Humbert, who earned victory against Denis Shapovalov to reach the third round in Indian Wells for the first time. Humbert struggled to find his best form in 2022, but has started this year strongly, advancing to the final at an ATP Challenger Tour event earlier this month.

Rublev arrived in Indian Wells off the back of a run to the final in Dubai and leads Humbert 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. The Frenchman, currently No. 89 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, did earn victory in their previous meeting, defeating Rublev in the Halle final in 2021. Just as he did on that occasion, Humbert will seek to blunt Rublev’s powerful baseline game on Sunday as he chases his third appearance in the fourth round at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

Also In Action…

The 2021 champion Norrie has won his past six matches after triumphing in Rio de Janeiro last month. The 10th-seeded Briton will aim to extend that run when he takes on Taro Daniel. The Japanese star won their only previous tour-level meeting five years ago in Indian Wells.

Zverev defeated Pedro Cachin in his opening match as he continues to build back to his best level after returning from last year’s ankle injury. The German will meet Emil Ruusuvuori, who defeated Zverev in Miami 2021.

Home favourite Frances Tiafoe takes on Australian Jason Kubler, while Stefanos Tsitsipas’ conqueror Jordan Thompson plays Alejandro Tabilo. In doubles, John Isner and Jack Sock will continue the quest for their third Indian Wells title together against Kevin Krawietz and Fabrice Martin.

Stan Wawrinka knows he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but the Swiss is enjoying life as a professional tennis player as much as ever.

The 37-year-old, who turns 38 later this month, is the oldest player in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Last August the Swiss was outside the Top 300, but he showed great resilience to battle back.

After the 16-time tour-level titlist defeated 26th seed Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open, ATPTour.com caught up with ‘Stan the Man’ about his love for tennis, why he still enjoys the process aged 37, the one match that sticks out from his career and more.

You can see how much fun you still have with the fans on court and everyone shows how much they love watching you play. How cool is that for you to experience?
Of course it’s always special. That’s one of the main reasons why I keep playing tennis. I enjoy what I’m doing. I’m passionate about it. The emotion that I get from the fans, from the people in each tournament, from the support that I can get in matches, is always going to be special. I want to enjoy that as much as I can because the day that I will stop there will be no return.

When you’re first starting as a pro, players worry about results and sometimes forget to enjoy it and have fun. To what extent do you have more fun now than when you started?
I think I always enjoyed it. I think I’ve always been passionate about that. I never forgot why I started when I was young. It was to play a game. [Swinging] a tennis racquet with balls against someone, it’s the game, it’s the sport. Even if some days are not that easy, you always have to push yourself. You have to have great discipline.

I love the work, I love the process to get there too, so I’m lucky and happy that I enjoy what I have to do to be at my top level and also when I play matches, it doesn’t matter which court, which big stadium, small stadium. For me I always enjoy it and I always appreciate the sport.

You mentioned the process. A lot of the time that’s the least fun part of your job. How are you able to continue to enjoy doing the hard work after all these years?
I think you need to see it as the big picture. The day you stop your sport there is no return. There is no way back, because it’s impossible to stop after 30 and then try to come back. It’s almost impossible, it’s so tough. And then you have to see [what is] also tough [is] I’m getting really old for my sport. [But] I’m still really young in my life.

After tennis, there are still so many years to do other stuff, so all together, I want to enjoy as much as possible. It’s a privilege to be a tennis player. It’s a privilege to be playing at that level, to be playing in the biggest tournaments in the world. As long as I’m feeling competitive with what I’m doing, that I feel like I can beat the top players, I’m enjoying that.

You mentioned you’re still young in life. But do you think there will ever be something again like the feeling of winning a close tennis match?
I think we all have different visions of what we’re doing. We all have a different way, that’s the beauty of tennis. There is not one rule. The only rule is about hard work and discipline, but the rest there are many ways of being at the top, many ways of winning tournaments and being at the top of your game. There are many ways of practising, many ways of having different technique and that’s the beauty of the sport.

Work hard and follow your dreams, but never forget where you came from💫❤️!
1-young me dreaming of entering the top100ATP💭🎾
2-old me entering the top100ATP again!I achieved way more than I could have dreamed of but it’s always gonna be special🙏🏻#appreciate #dedication #workhard pic.twitter.com/TleQL5lYdk

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) March 4, 2023

You made a nice post when you returned to the Top 100. How special was that accomplishment to show you are still here?
As long as I feel competitive, I want to keep going. But it’s also to remind people not to forget where you come from and what was your dream when you were young. It doesn’t matter if I won three Grand Slams, if I achieved way more than I could dream of. It still has to be special. If you want to keep pushing yourself after 30 and you want to still be passionate about that, things have to be special.

What was your biggest dream when you were young?
My dream was to be a professional tennis player, so at that time [it] was to be Top 100 in the world.

All year you’ve shown a very good level against a lot of good players. Do you feel that you are right there with them?
I feel competitive. I know that when I enter the court, most of the time I can beat my opponent. I’m not young anymore. Things are a bit more difficult also to keep going back-to-back-to-back days, to push through a tournament. But I still believe that I can win tournaments. I don’t know which level of tournament, but of course I want to win a trophy before stopping.

You still have the shots that you can go and hit whatever shot you want. How does it feel to physically still have the ability to play the tennis you want?
It’s why I keep practising, why I keep pushing myself. I know what abilities I have. I know all the work that’s put in that I have to do to be at that level. Of course it’s great and I’m happy with it, but I want to keep pushing for more.

If you can pick one match in which you had the most beautiful emotions of any, which would it be and why?
It’s tough to say, but I would probably pick the French Open final against Novak Djokovic. It’s tough to pick one because I’ve had so many. I’m lucky I have many big memories, but the French Open has always been special. In France, winning the title after winning in juniors is something really special.

After nearly two full weeks out of action as he recovered from a right hamstring injury, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the court with the same elite level that has characterised his rise to superstardom over the course of the past year.

A semi-finalist last season at the BNP Paribas Open, Alcaraz received a hero’s welcome on the Indian Wells stadium court on Saturday night. He did not disappoint the expectant crowd, delivering with his all-action game in a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“I feel really comfortable playing here, staying here. I felt the love since I came onto the court” Alcaraz said in his post-match interview. “I have great memories, I made my first semi-finals at a Masters 1000 here, had that match against Rafa… It’s so special to come back here.”

Red hot from the start, Alcaraz dropped just one point on serve in the opening set and broke in his first return game as he raced to a 3-0 lead. Set two was tighter, with Kokkinakis effective in fighting power with power for stretches, but Alcaraz’s speed, defence and consistency was too much to overcome after another early break.

“I would say I played my best, apart from everything: the points that I have to defend, the semi-finals that I have to defend,” the 19-year-old said. “I tried not to think about that, just to play my game, to enjoy playing here. Of course I tried to make people enjoy watching tennis here… That’s what I liked from tonight.”

The Spaniard could return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on 20 March by winning the Indian Wells title, which would be his third at the ATP Masters 1000 level after his triumphs in Madrid and Miami last year. It will take four more wins to accomplish that feat — a goal that Alcaraz did not shy away from in the buildup to the tournament.

His next opponent will be 31st seed Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated Guido Pella 7-6(3), 7-6(4) earlier on Saturday. Beyond that, Andy Murray or Jack Draper would await in the fourth round.