Alcaraz rolls into Indian Wells fourth round
Carlos Alcaraz kept his Indian Wells “three-peat” campaign on track with a pristine 6-2 6-4 win against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Monday, as a crowd of Americans fed off the home fans to reach the final 16.
The second-seeded Spaniard, Alcaraz, was never in doubt as he won the first five games, sending over 10 winners in the first set alone, as Shapovalov who was fresh off a confident win in Dallas struggled to find his usual intensity.
The four-time major winner never faced a break in a nearly flawless second set and he held to love in the final game, clinching the affair in under 90 minutes with a mighty overhead smash.
Alcaraz wants to become only the third man to win three straight titles at the Masters 1000 tournament after retired great Roger Federer and former number one Novak Djokovic, who crashed out in the second round.
Alcaraz will face Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 after the Bulgarian 14th seed beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(2) in a three-hour battle. —Reuters
