Jack Draper vs Carlos Alcaraz Prediction & Picks - ATP Indian Wells

Prediction published on 3/15/25, 3:34 AM  by Lou Aguila | Modified on 3/15/25 at 3:41 AM in ATP Indian Wells Picks

Carlos Alcaraz seeks a return trip to the final of the 2025 Indian Wells Open. He is gearing up for a competitive semifinal battle with British rising star Jack Draper on Friday.

Alcaraz booked his ticket to the semifinal of the 2025 Indian Wells Open with a gutsy 6-3 7-6(4) win over Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. After dismantling his first three opponents in the tourney, Alcaraz got his first acid test against Cerundolo, who had upset Alex De Minaur of Australia 7-5 6-3 in the previous round. The Argentine accomplished what the first three players who faced Alcaraz failed to do, and that was to take the reigning world’s No.3 into a tiebreaker. Cerundolo only converted one of 9 breakpoint chances, but he gave Alcaraz a lot of trouble with his serves, earning 38 points on his first serves while giving up only two service breaks. Just when it all seemed a third set was inevitable after Cerundolo surged to a 4-1 lead in the second frame, Alcaraz elevated his play to another gear as he captured three consecutive games to tie the score at 4-4 and thereafter held his next three serves to bag the win.

Draper also advanced to his second straight semifinals after taming the big-serving Ben Shelton 6-4 7-5. Draper has kept on punishing opponents with his blistering serves. Against Shelton, the Brit landed 74 percent of his first serves, winning 33 points or 67 percent first-serve conversion rate. Shelton’s power game had little to no effect against Draper, who even managed to capture three service breaks against the American behind excellent anticipation and counterpunching. The victory sent Draper to the semifinal round of the Indian Wells Open, where he will get a chance to spoil Alcaraz’s bid to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only players to win the tournament for three consecutive years.