The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the round of 16 at the Indian Wells tournament in the United States on Monday, the first Masters 1000 event of the season played on hard courts. He defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov convincingly in two sets, 6-2, 6-4, in less than an hour and a half.
Alcaraz, the winner of the last two editions of the Californian desert event, extended his winning streak to 14 matches. He performed well in his first test to vie for another title and match the achievements of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the only players to win three trophies at this tournament.
Facing a dangerous opponent in Shapovalov, who had a successful American tour with a victory in Dallas and a semifinal appearance in Acapulco, Alcaraz capitalized on the Canadian’s weaknesses. Despite a somewhat erratic serving day, Alcaraz managed to outplay Shapovalov.
The match saw Alcaraz start strong, taking a commanding 5-0 lead, although he had to fend off a couple of break points along the way. Shapovalov managed to get on the scoreboard, but Alcaraz closed out the first set decisively.
Both players improved their serving reliability as the match progressed. Shapovalov tried to stay in the game, but Alcaraz didn’t give him many opportunities on return. Alcaraz broke Shapovalov in the seventh game of the second set and held on to secure his spot in the round of 16, where he will face Grigor Dimitrov.
In a post-match interview, Alcaraz acknowledged that he felt less nervous compared to the first round. He expressed satisfaction with his performance and hoped to continue playing well in the tournament.
Alcaraz’s next match against Dimitrov will be a tough challenge, as the Bulgarian has defeated him in their last two encounters at the Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Miami.
