Indian Wells, March 12 – Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz remained undefeated in 2026, winning his fourth-round match against Ruud 6-1, 7-6(2) and advancing to the quarterfinals at the Indian Wells Open for the fifth consecutive year.
The 22-year-old, who has won seven major titles, is aiming to become one of four players to have won three or more Indian Wells singles titles this century, and he is now one of four players to have reached five consecutive quarterfinals in the California desert.
Furthermore, he is the first man to reach five quarterfinals here before turning 23.
Alcaraz set the tone with a break in the first game of the match, then further excited the crowd with a classic Alcaraz moment: a powerful topspin lob, taken out of the air, that left Ruud scratching his head just over ten minutes into the match.
The Norwegian netted a forehand shortly after and took a dejected walk to his chair, now trailing 3-0 in the first set. The rest of the opening set went without resistance.
Ruud rose to the challenge in the second. The three-time major finalist brought some of his own energy to the big stage on Wednesday. He hit a stunning forehand passing shot to level the set at three-all.
The Norwegian made it through the set without facing a break point, but Alcaraz turned on the style in the tiebreak, making several winners for the highlight reel as he raced to victory.
Alcaraz will face 2021 champion Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev also continued his winning ways in Tennis Paradise, winning 6-2, 6-4 against 21-year-old American Alex Michelsen to reach the quarterfinals.
Medvedev, who lost to Alcaraz in the 2023 and 2024 finals, will face either Novak Djokovic or Jack Draper in the quarterfinals. The 29-year-old, fresh off winning the Dubai title, extended his current winning streak to seven with a dominant performance in Stadium 2.
