Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime face each other this Thursday in the quarterfinal match of the Masters 1,000 in Indian Wells. The Spaniard is facing a unique opportunity to regain number 1 on the ATP circuit, although for that he will have to win the three matches he has left in the tournament.
Alcaraz, who passed by abandonment to the British Jack Draper in the round of 16, will not have an easy pass to the semifinals of the Masters 1,000 in Indian Wells. He faces his black beast, because the Canadian has surpassed the Spanish on the three occasions in which they crossed paths.
Auger-Aliassime, the only tennis player that Alcaraz did not beat on tour, having played against him on more than two occasions, qualified for the quarterfinals in California after eliminating American Tommy Paul in a very even match. He did it by coming from behind and saving six match points against him in the third set.
They are two young values, called to dominate the circuit during the next decade: Alcaraz, at 19 years old, is number 2; and Auger-Aliassime, 22, currently ranks 10th.
The first time they met was in 2021, in the quarterfinals of the US Open and the Canadian won 6-3, 6-1 and withdrew from the Spanish due to injury. A year later, the American prevailed again, this time 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, starring in a comeback in the Davis Cup series held in Valencia. There the Murcian accused the accumulated fatigue since he had just won the US Open five days earlier in New York. The third clash came at the ATP 500 in Basel, Switzerland, and Auger-Aliassime won in straight sets (6-3/6-2).
In the 32 defeats as a professional in final draws, the Murcian was always defeated by other tennis players: against the Swede Mikael Ymer in his two confrontations; another two against the Mallorcan Rafa Nadal in three clashes, two more against the Italian Jannik Sinner in four matches and also two against the British Cameron Norrie in six matches.
The young tennis player from Murcia, who in 2022 was a semifinalist in the first of these championships and took the title in the second, will regain the throne if he is able to win in California, where last season he lost 4-6, 6-4 and 3-6 against the Mallorcan Rafa Nadal in the Spanish duel, which means that this year he defends 360 points and can add 640 more. In this case, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil, the first seed, would reach 7,420 against Djokovic’s 7,160.
Today Alcaraz continues with the 6,780 points he already had and is 380 behind Djokovic, who added 180 by being a semifinalist at the ATP 500 in Dubai, where he lost to the Russian Daniil Medvedev by a double 4-6.
The quarterfinal match of the Master 1,000 between Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be held from Thursday, March 16 to Friday, March 17 at 02:00. The clash can be seen live on television on Movistar and can also be followed through the La Vanguardia website.
