Indian Wells
Alcaraz dazzles in Ruud win, continues to rewrite Indian Wells record books
World No. 1 will subsequent meet Norrie — the final participant aside from Sinner to beat him
March 11, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz is into his fifth quarter-final on the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
By Jerome Coombe
Carlos Alcaraz continues to ship highly effective alerts throughout the ATP Tour in 2026, and his fourth-round win over Casper Ruud on Wednesday on the BNP Paribas Open supplied additional proof.
The No. 1 participant in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a composed and entertaining show to safe a 6-1, 7-6(2) victory and advance to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells for the fifth straight yr. Alcaraz, a two-time champion on the hard-court ATP Masters 1000, made a blistering begin earlier than holding agency by way of an improved second set from Ruud to transfer to 6-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Headvert rivalry.
Welcome to the School of Alcaraz @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/xq2EJyZcOx
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 11, 2026
“My first set was unplayable, to be honest,” Alcaraz mentioned with a smile. “I’m simply actually blissful about enjoying that type of degree. I’m actually blissful to get by way of and hopefully [I can] play at this degree in the subsequent spherical.
“I think I can have fun and enjoy, but I can also turn my mind and focus again. I try to play my best tennis on every point, but when a point deserves a smile, I gotta do that. That’s what happened today. Casper played some great points, and I had to enjoy that. That’s why we both play tennis.”
With the 91-minute victory, Alcaraz stretched his unbeaten run to 15 matches in 2026, having triumphed on the Australian Open in January earlier than including one other title on the ATP 500 occasion in Doha. Next up in the California desert is a gathering with one other former champion, 2021 winner Cameron Norrie.
After being pushed in a comeback victory towards Arthur Rinderknech in the earlier spherical, Alcaraz recognised the necessity for a robust begin towards Ruud and delivered instantly. He thrilled the group early, producing two daring lobs in the third recreation earlier than asserting authority throughout the courtroom.
Alcaraz moved Ruud relentlessly from nook to nook together with his sweeping groundstrokes, and used his intelligent variation to keep fixed stress on the Norwegian. With the win, the Spaniard additionally turned the primary participant to attain 5 Indian Wells quarter-finals earlier than the age of 23.
Now standing between Alcaraz and the semi-finals shall be Norrie, the latest participant aside from World No. 2 Jannik Sinner to defeat him. The Briton battled again for a three-set victory once they met in the second spherical of the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris final October.
Earlier on Wednesday, Norrie defeated Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2 to proceed his sturdy record in Indian Wells. The 30-year-old is thru to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, and his fourth on the California event, in accordance to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
