British No 1 defeats defending champion 6-1, 0-6, 6-4Draper to face Holger Rune after he beat Daniil Medvedev
Of the four previous times that Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz had stood across the net from each other, half of their meetings had ended with a distraught Draper aborting the match due to injury. While Draper attempted to keep up with the most successful player of the new generation, their rivalry underlined the biggest obstacle in Draper’s career: his own physical frailty.
Physically, mentally and in every other category, however, the British No 1 has dramatically improved over the past year as he has established himself as one of the very best players in the world. Amid a fortnight that has showcased the best tennis of his life, Draper held his nerve in a turbulent, chaotic tussle to close out a remarkable 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 win over Alcaraz and reach his first Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells.
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