Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit by Arthur Rinderknech and "got in trouble", as the Spaniard himself admitted, after a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 victory at the Indian Wells round of 32. Alcaraz lost his first set and a misstep causing ankle pain posed a serious danger to his run in the competition. But the World No. 1 bounced back and defeated Rinderknech, sixth consecutive victory against the French player, famous for reaching the Shanghai Masters final and losing it to his cousin Valentin Vacherot last October.
Alcaraz extendes his perfect 14-0 streak this year and will face Casper Ruud tomorrow, Wednesday. Games on Tuesday also saw Novak Djokovic bounce back from losing a set 6-1, defeating Aleksander Kovavecic. "Aleks, excellent match today, brother! Great fight. Keep it up, good luck in the rest!", wrote Djokovic after the match, congratulating the American player of Bosnian and Serbian parents.
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Indian Wells round of 16 games (men's singles)
Tuesday, March 10:
Arthur Fils vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime: 19:00 CET / 18:00 GMT
Frances Tiafoe vs. Alexander Zverev: 21:00 CET / 20:00 GMT
Learner Tien vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 22:10 CET / 21:10 GMT
Wednesday, March 11:
Joao Fonseca vs. Jannik Sinner: 02:00 CET / 01:00 GMT
Carlos Alcaraz vs. Casper Ruud: TBD
Rinky Hijikata vs. Cameron Norrie: TBD
Novak Djokovic vs. Jack Draper: TBD
Daniil Medvedev vs. Alex Michelsen: TBD