Carlos Alcaraz collapsed to a shock 1-6, 6-0, 4-6 defeat to Jack Draper in the men’s singles semi-finals of the ongoing Indian Wells Masters, on Sunday. The result saw Alcaraz’s 16-match winning streak end, as the Spaniard failed to get any kind of control in the match.
Although, Alcaraz did fight back in the next set to bag it with ease. But then in the third set, Alcaraz easily ran out of steam and fell to a disappointing defeat.
The match also had a video review controversy, which sparked a debate among fans. In the third set, Draper was denied a point because the chair umpire thought the ball bounced twice before he hit it. But the British tennis ace requested for a video review, but then the chair umpire initially agreed to replay the point. Draper didn’t agree and asked him to continue with the video review, and then after a lengthy delay, the point was awarded to Draper.
Carlos Alcaraz speaks on the points controversy
Commenting on the incident, Alcaraz said, “Well, not really. I mean, I didn’t see if it was one bounce or two bounces at the beginning. So I was just waiting for the review.”
Analysing the decision, he said, “With the second review, it [Lahyani’s call] was in the middle of the point or after I hit it, I wasn’t sure enough. So I didn’t hear, you know, while I was hitting the ball, but I wasn’t sure enough to say something.”
“And, you know, waiting for the ball reviews, they didn’t bother to me at all. I mean, that way it was normal for the review,” he added.
The defeat also ended Alcaraz’s hopes of winning a third successive Indian Wells title, and his second this year, after clinching the trophy at the Rotterdam Open last month.
Speaking after the match, Draper said, “It was a strange match in all honesty. Carlos came out a little flat, I sensed that. I had a chance in the first game of the second, and he came up with an ace.”
“What happened to him happened to me, I got tight, I had low energy. I got lost out there for 25 minutes, but in the third, I was really proud of my competitiveness, my attitude and I somehow managed to get over the line,” he added.
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