INDIAN WELLS — Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who at just 21 years of age has four Grand Slam singles titles on his impressive resume, knocked off Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4 at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday night.
Alcaraz, the second seed at the Indian Wells outdoor tournament and ranked third in the world, needed just 84 minutes to eliminate Shapovalov and punch his ticket to the round of 16, where he'll face the winner of a match between Gael Monfils of France and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
The Spaniard will be looking to win his 15th consecutive match at the ATP Masters 1000 event
Even though Alcaraz had more unforced errors (17-15) than his opponent from Richmond Hill, Ont., he only had five double faults and had a huge advantage in first serve percentage (73 to 54). He won eight of nine service games, and four of nine return games.
Shapovalov had two aces, eight double faults and won five of nine service games and only one of nine return games.
"I know he (Shapovalov) started the season really strong, showing really good tennis with the title in Dallas, playing good tennis in Acapulco, so I knew that I had to start the match really strong, really focused on my things, on the level," Alcaraz said in his post-match interview.
"Try to play good tennis, good rallies at the beginning just to get the good pace, to come into the match. I saw that it was going to be a really good and difficult battle, so just really happy with the way that I started the match."
The Canadian advanced to the third round of the California tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Australian Adam Walton on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.
The Canadian Press
