Carlos Alcaraz moves into Indian Wells QFs after Jack Draper retires

Carlos Alcaraz made his way into the Indian Wells quarterfinals on Tuesday after Jack Draper was forced to retire when the Spaniard was leading 6-2, 2-0. The Spaniard moved into the last eight of the tournament for the second time in a row.

The Briton was forced to retire due to an abdominal injury, which had troubled him during his third-round match against veteran Andy Murray.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz felt confident during his 46-minute display against the Brit and he would look to continue the good show in the upcoming matches.

“I felt the ball really well. I’m really happy with that part,” he assessed. “I would say I returned well, I hit great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots, to come into the next round with more confidence.”

This was Alcaraz’s second win against the Brit as he once again dominated the game.

Alcaraz wrote well-wishes on the TV camera: “Get well soon Jack!!”

The Spaniard is chasing the numero uno position in the Pepperstone ATP rankings and he will reach the top spot if he goes all the way in Indian Wells. The youngster admitted that the pressure is there but he needs to handle the same.

“Honestly, the nerves are there. But you have to handle that, and I would say I handled the nerves really well,” the 19-year-old said. “That’s the goal for me, to show that I’m relaxed, to play relaxed. It’s something that I am practising for as well, to play my game, and relaxing. If I lose, I lose, but I want to feel relaxed on court.”

Carlos Alcaraz will next take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.