Top seed Carlos Alcaraz locks horns with 8th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Indian Wells on Thursday.
The current world No. 2 has not dropped a set so far in the competition. He began with a composed 6-3, 6-3 win against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the round of 64. In the round of 32, Alcaraz had to fight hard to win the first set against Tallon Griekspoor but the second straight was more straightforward. The match ended 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in favor of the former world No. 1. Alcaraz had a win percentage of 75 on the first serve.
In the round of 16, Alcaraz made light work of the talented Jack Draper, winning the first set 6-2. The Spaniard led the second set 2-0 when Jack Draper retired. Alcaraz had a win percentage of 80 on the first serve that went up to 86 on the second serve. Draper failed to break Alcaraz’s serve during the match.
This will be the third quarterfinal appearance for Felix Auger-Aliassime. In the round of 64, he had to fight hard to beat Pedro Martinez in two competitive sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. The Canadian youngster followed it up with another solid performance to beat 27th seed Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-4 in the round of 32. Auger-Aliassime had a win percentage of 76 on the first serve and converted 4 out of 8 break points.
In the round of 16, Auger-Aliassime came back from a set down to beat 17th seed, Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). The 22-year-old smashed 12 aces and had a win percentage of 78 on the first serve.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has an impressive 3-0 record in the head-to-head scoreline against Carlos Alcaraz. The Canadian youngster defeated Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in their most recent encounter in the 2022 Basel Open semifinal.
Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in three sets.
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