Jack Draper books his maiden ATP Masters final as British No1 downs Carlos Alcaraz in helter-skelter three-set clash at Indian Wells

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Jack Draper earned the biggest win of his life against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells with a double helping hand from the VAR.

The tide of the contest appeared to be turned by a bizarre moment in the deciding set when Draper used the challenge system twice in one point. But we will get to that later; first we must acknowledge the significance of this 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 win for Draper.

He is into his first Masters final and will play Holger Rune on Sunday for by far the biggest title of his career. He beat a man with two Wimbledon titles and four Grand Slams overall, a man who was seeking a third consecutive Indian Wells title. And he will wake up on Monday morning in the world’s top 10, at No8 or No7, depending on the result in the final.

Draper vowed this year to close the gap on Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and he is delivering. We are witnessing the genesis of Britain’s next tennis superstar.

We are witnessing also the continuance of a potentially great rivalry. This was a second win for Draper after Queen’s last year and he now trails the head to head 2-3. But the 23-year-old Brit and the 21-year-old Spaniard could meet again a dozen times or more and not play such a peculiar match.

First, that VAR controversy. The video review system in tennis is relatively new. There was a trial at the US Open, the Australian Open introduced it this year and on the regular men’s tour it has made its debut in Indian Wells.

Jack Draper has booked his spot in his first Masters final with victory over Carlos Alcaraz

The British No1 romped to an impressive lead after he claimed the first set dropping one game

Alcaraz previously won the California tournament twice before and was the youngest ever winner in 2023

If this event was expected to stress-test the system then Draper certainly put it through its paces. At 15-15, 1-1 in the deciding set he chased down a drop shot and went on to win the point but umpire Mohamed Lahyani had called ‘not up’, believing the ball had bounced twice.

Draper challenged that and the video replay showed he picked the ball up cleanly, so Lahyani ordered a replay. Draper then challenged again, arguing the not up call was late and so had not interfered with Alcaraz’s shot, meaning he should be awarded the point.

Again Lahyani donned the headphones and again the decision went Draper’s way. It looked very marginal and a less sporting individual than Alcaraz could have kicked up an almighty stink. The two players had an amicable exchange at the net after the incident and Draper later said: ‘In my opinion I got the ball up, definitely. I said to Carlos at the net, if he felt like the shot he missed was because he heard Mohammed, if he got distracted by that then I would have replayed the point.’

That was only the strangest incident in a most peculiar match. Alcaraz was startlingly bad in the opening set; Draper almost as poor in the second.

It was a mild day in California but Draper was getting hot and bothered, swathed in an ice towel at changeovers. His body language was poor at the end of the second set and he afterwards attempted to sum up those topsy-turvy two sets.

‘I was expecting Carlos to come out all guns blazing but it was kind of the opposite,’ he said. ‘I was a bit shocked. I was playing some solid tennis but there were a lot of errors.

‘At the start of the second I had a chance but then I completely lost concentration. I felt the energy just being sapped from my body and I lost my way for about 25 minutes.’

All the wind was in the sails of the Spanish Armada and Draper took himself off court for a toilet break. ‘I looked at myself in the mirror and just thought: I’m in the semi final of Masters 1000, this is a win to make the top 10 in the world, playing against Carlos in a full stadium. I just need to give everything I've got.’

The Spaniard made a comeback in the second set but Draper hung on to despatch his rival

Draper has previously beaten Alcaraz on grass, besting him at Queen's Club last summer

The 23-year-old will make his debut in the Top 10 next week regardless of the outcome of his final on Sunday

It was seriously impressive how Draper recovered his equilibrium in that final set - especially after that seemingly pivotal video review at one game all.

That double reversal of the umpire’s decisions took the score from 30-15 Alcaraz to 15-30 and Draper won the next two points to break. It was a huge shift in the scoreline and it perhaps affected Alcaraz’s concentration, too.

Alcaraz certainly played a shocking game to go a double break down and, though he survived Draper’s first attempt to serve for the match, at the second time of asking the boy from London did the business.

It was certainly an off-day for Alcaraz but Draper was superb. The key shot in the match was his crosscourt backhand. Has he ever hit it harder than in this match? Time and again it was rifled across the bows and that must be at least part of the reason why Alcaraz hit his forehand as poorly as he has for years.

It will not be easy for Draper to rouse himself again after such a seismic occasion but an extremely winnable final awaits. Danish world No 13 Rune was brilliant in victory over Daniil Medvedev in the first semi-final of the day but this is his first final since Brisbane in January of last year.

The rise of Jack Draper continues.

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