Carlos Alcaraz shrugs off slow start, moves on at Indian Wells

Arthur Rinderknech had Carlos Alcaraz reeling on Monday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday, but the 26th-seeded Frenchman couldn't seal the deal.

The top-seeded Spaniard rallied for a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2 victory in Indian Wells, Calif.

Rinderknech saved a set point late in the first-set tiebreaker while winning the last three points. He subsequently broke Alcaraz's serve to open the second set.

Then Alcaraz rediscovered the form that led him to the Indian Wells championship in 2023 and 2024 -- not to mention the career Grand Slam -- by winning 12 of the match's final 16 games.

The rally allowed Alcaraz to remain perfect in 2026: 14 matches, 14 wins, including the Australian Open championship.

Alcaraz gave plenty of praise to Rinderknech post-match.

"I just sometimes get tired about playing Roger Federer every round," Alcaraz joked. "Yeah, sometimes just feel like, yeah, they are playing really at an insane level.

"I don't know if I'm feeling not the right way, but I feel it's just against me all the time. If they play like, you know, that level every match, they should be higher in the ranking."

Alcaraz added of the early deficit, "He was playing his best tennis, I would say, in the first, the beginning of the second. For me, it was really, really difficult. I got in trouble, to be honest, but just really happy with the way that I dealt with everything that was happening.

"I accepted it, kept going, stayed strong mentally and then tried to do a little bit different. ... I think I just started to play more solid, waiting for my chances."

Alcaraz's fourth-round opponent will be 13th-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway, who rallied past 24th-seeded Valentin Vacherot of Monca 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The man Alcaraz beat in the Melbourne final earlier this year, Novak Djokovic, also earned a three-set win on Monday. The third-seeded Serbian defeated the United States' Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Kovacevic, a 27-year-old New York native, produced a 16-6 edge in aces, but it wasn't enough.

"I wasn't maybe feeling my rhythm on that return very well today, but he was just making my life very difficult, returning the serve," Djokovic said. "He was just acing me all over, getting a lot of free points. ... He had a tremendous serving display today. He's on the right path."

In an all-U.S. matchup, Alex Michelsen upset seventh-seeded Californian Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells champion, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

The defending champion, 14th-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain, ousted 19th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-1, 7-5.

Also advancing to the fourth round were 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 27th-seeded Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata.

--Field Level Media