The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP rankings had an explosive performance and showed bravery at the right time to defeat Casper Ruud with a score of 6-1, 7-6 and advance to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells for the fifth consecutive year. This is also Alcaraz's 6th victory in 7 encounters against Ruud in the ATP tournament system.
“I am very happy to pass this round and hope I can play at this level in the next round,” Alcaraz shared after the match. The victory over Casper Ruud also helped the Spanish player become the first person to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals five times before the age of 23.
In addition, defeating Casper Ruud after 91 minutes also helped Alcaraz extend his unbeaten streak to 15 matches in 2026, after winning the Australian Open in January and continuing to win another title at the ATP 500 tournament in Doha. His next match in California is a clash with another former champion, 2021 winner Cameron Norrie.
With 15 wins since the beginning of the year, Alcaraz has surpassed Stan Wawrinka's most impressive start-of-year record and equaled Agassi's record in the ATP Tour system. Wawrinka, who owns three Grand Slam titles, started the 2014 ATP season with a 13-match winning streak. That streak includes victories at the Chennai Open and Australian Open.
Meanwhile, in 1995, Agassi, one of the few male tennis players to achieve a "Career Grand Slam", began his ATP season with an impressive 15-match winning streak.
Alcaraz's next goal is to surpass the records of Roger Federer, Jannik Sinner and especially Novak Djokovic.
In 2006, Federer had his strongest season in his career, starting with a 16-match winning streak.
In 2024, Sinner set a record of 16 consecutive wins, including a victory at the Australian Open, equaling the previous record set by Federer.
Meanwhile, Djokovic had the most impressive start to the season in the history of men's tennis in 2011.
The Serbian tennis player started the year with a 41-match winning streak. Djokovic was undefeated from January 2011 until the French Open semi-finals, winning titles at the Australian Open, alongside Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami Masters, Serbia Open, Madrid Masters and Rome Masters tournaments.
The last unbeaten streak was broken by Roger Federer. The Swiss legend won the semi-finals with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 at Roland Garros 2011.
Djokovic finished that year with an incredible 70–6 record in all competitions. Many consider his 2011 season one of the best seasons in tennis history.
In the Indian Wells 2026 quarterfinals, Carlos Alcaraz will face Cameron Norrie, the closest outside Jannik Sinner to defeat him. The British player came back to win in 3 sets against Alcaraz when the two met in the second round of the ATP Masters 1,000 tournament in Paris last October.
