No. 13 seed Jack Draper qualified for his first 1000-level final with a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 upset of second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif.
Draper converted 5 of 9 break points in the stunning semifinal upset of Alcaraz, who had won the past two Indian Wells titles.
Draper will face 12th-seeded Holger Rune in the title match. Rune knocked off fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-4.
The victory also will elevate Draper into the Top 10 for the first time of his career. The Brit is forecast to move up to No. 8 on Monday.
“I’m not thinking about the Top 10 right now, I have tomorrow to get through,” Draper said in an on-court interview. “All my focus is on the match. Obviously, I’m incredibly proud of my achievements. To beat Carlos on this court, honestly, it’s an incredible feeling for me.”
Draper and Rune have met once previously. Rune, from Denmark, won that match 6-4, 6-2 in the 2024 Cincinnati quarterfinals.
The win over World No. 3 Alcaraz is the second Top 5 upset of the tournament for Draper. He also beat World No. 4 Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.
Draper had a 5-2 lead in the third round before the nerves hit.
At the same time, a back-to-the-wall Alcaraz stepped up his play to win the next two games.
But Draper scored a big winner to go up 30-15 in the next game and he won the next two points to beat the Spaniard.
“I worked so hard to break that game and go up 5-2 and I was still physically struggling from that and the nerves,” Draper explained. “It was my first ATP semifinal on the 1000 side and obviously a lot riding on it, top 10 and stuff.
“Against a guy like Carlos, there’s no room for error and that was putting a lot of pressure on my mind.”
Earlier, Rune had a 20-16 edge in winners while reaching his first final in 14-plus months.
“The job is not over yet, but it feels amazing,” Rune said. “Playing Daniil is one of the toughest challenges for me on Tour. I managed to beat him the first time (we played), but we know each other well.
“I obviously had the right tactics, but it was still so difficult because he puts in great effort and is super solid. So, I’m very proud of myself.”
Rune committed 28 unforced errors but converted 3 of 4 break points. Medvedev had 27 unforced errors while falling to 2-2 all-time against Rune.
Medvedev was one game away from winning the first set before Rune won the last three games to take the set.
Rune led 3-1 in the second set before Medvedev pulled within 5-4. Rune then finished off the match.
“I’ve got good leg work, so I can reach many balls,” Rune said. “It’s a very specific tactical plan that I made with my coach yesterday evening and this morning. It’s about finding the right pace and which shots to hit, because so many players miss too many shots against Daniil. He makes you go for more, so I’m super proud that I managed to find the right rhythm.”
–Field Level Media
