Carlos Alcaraz beat Fabian Marozsan 6-3 6-3 to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals on Tuesday and avenge his loss to the Hungarian at the Italian Open last year.
The Spaniard was in control throughout the match, pounding forehands and never losing his serve as he took another step towards defending his title in the California desert.
A crosscourt forehand on match point sealed the win and second seed Alcaraz, who has said his only goal is to win the tournament again, had only a muted reaction after advancing, nodding to his team and yelling “Vamos”.
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Marozsan was a qualifier when he stunned Alcaraz in straight sets in Rome last May but Alcaraz turned the tables on centre court with a clinical and comprehensive win.
“Honestly I was nervous before the match, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz said.
“Playing against someone who beat you easily — I remember I had no chances in the match in Rome. It was difficult for me today to approach the match, but I’m really happy with the way that I did.
“I started pretty well, playing my style since the beginning. Today I knew what I had to do better than I did in Rome.”
Alcaraz continues to gain momentum at the tournament and since dropping the first set in the first match he played, he has not lost one since. The victory was his 50th match win at a Masters 1000 event.
The two-time Grand Slam champion is on course for a possible collision with Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Alcaraz will first need to get past Alexander Zverev, who beat Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 later on Tuesday.
Earlier, Jiri Lehecka upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4 to reach his first quarterfinal at a Masters 1000 event.
The 22-year-old Czech piled up 25 winners against the Greek player and will next face third-seeded Sinner in the quarterfinals.
Sinner beat big-serving American Ben Shelton 7-6(4), 6-1 for his 18th consecutive win. The Italian has won 15 matches in a row to start 2024, claiming titles at Melbourne and Rotterdam. It was the 150th hard-court victory for the 22-year-old Sinner, who became first player born in the 2000s to reach that milestone.
Sinner had a set point, up 5-4 and 40-30 in the first, before Shelton was saved by a net cord. It then took Sinner another 15 minutes to close out the first set; in the second, he went up 3-0 and coasted to the victory.
