Indian Wells recap: Why Carlos Alcaraz is tired of playing ‘Roger Federer’

Follow The Athletic’s coverage of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells

The fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells has arrived in California’s Coachella Valley.

Here are the matches and players that have stood out, some things tennis fans may have missed, and what to look out for in the third round.

Why is Carlos Alcaraz fed up of playing an already-retired legend?

Of all the ways Carlos Alcaraz has improved over the past year or so, the most impressive might be one of the subtlest.

Helped by his improvements to the potency and reliability of his serve, the world No. 1 has mastered the art of defusing a peaking opponent in recent months. Of late, he has even mastered doing it when his serve isn’t quite firing.

It used to be that Alcaraz was vulnerable against players who, seemingly inspired by what was coming at them from the other end, raised their game to a hitherto unforeseen level against him. This was particularly true of opponents with enough front-court skills to win some of the cat-and-mouse points Alcaraz loves, while gaining confidence from the thrill of such a battle of wits and end-range skills.

It would happen to Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz’s nearest rival, less often, because Sinner pushes opponents to their limits in terms of baseline power and consistency. Nearly every player in the world can make some improbable highlight-reel shots. Far fewer can hit five or six forehands with the quality and pace Sinner can demand point after point.

The first part of the dynamic still plays out. Alcaraz’s opponents still find all-or-nothing tennis, knowing that they may as well go for broke because anything less will likely lead to them being ragdolled.

The difference now is that Alcaraz is able to ride out those periods when his opponents peak, trusting that if he can maintain his level, they will eventually drop theirs.

So it proved Monday night, at the BNP Paribas Open, as Arthur Rinderknech produced one of the best performances of his career to go up a set and a break on Alcaraz in the third round at Indian Wells. From there, Alcaraz dug in, didn’t let his own level dip, and lost just four more games en route to a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 win. It followed similar wins against Karen Khachanov, by an almost identical 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 scoreline, and Andrey Rublev, both at the Qatar Open a few weeks ago. In all three of those matches, Alcaraz’s serve was not quite at its new level, closer to that of 2024 and 2025, when Alcaraz would play matches like them and more likely lose.

In his post-match news conference, Alcaraz joked that he “sometimes gets tired about playing Roger Federer every round,” adding that “sometimes I just feel like they (my opponents are) playing really 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 that level every match, they should be higher in the ranking. But obviously it’s something that concerns me. When I’m just playing, I think about that.

“All I can do is just accept it, keep it going, trying to do different things in the match, trying not to let him be aggressive or playing his style, trying to put my style, my tennis, my level into the match and trying to turn things around. That’s what I try to do. But obviously the first thing is just accept it.”

Finding a way not to let Rinderknech’s “insane” level unduly bother him proved key to Alcaraz’s 14th straight win in 2026. Alcaraz still has a way to go to catch or overtake Novak Djokovic’s 2011 record of 41 consecutive victories to kick off an ATP season, but adding yet another skill to his game will help. He will search for No. 15 against Casper Ruud, who knocked out Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

— Charlie Eccleshare

A much-anticipated meeting?

Iga Świątek and Karolina Muchová must have a recurring invite to the Coachella Valley. A year on from Świątek’s 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Muchová in the fourth round at Indian Wells, they meet again: in the fourth round at Indian Wells.

Both of them set up the meeting in style. Muchová blitzed the dangerous Antonia Ružic, who has developed a reputation as a seed-stopper in recent months, while Świątek made adjustments from her defeat to Maria Sakkari at the Qatar Open (which thwarted a Świątek vs. Muchová semifinal) to ease past her in California.

Muchová even found time to do a bit of catching practice, over-running a volley and showing that her reflexes extend far beyond her touch at the net:

WHAT WAS THAT😭 pic.twitter.com/uu8xQDF1QH

— ann (@nowayholmes) March 9, 2026

Świątek started the Federer train before Alcaraz by calling Muchová “the women’s Federer” in her post-match news conference, and the Czech, who won her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar Open, has been in fine form all week in Indian Wells, thanks in part to a greater belief in her baseline potency.

Świątek has also played herself into form, displaying patience in both of her matches and at no point resorting to the overhitting under pressure that has characterized some of her worst losses in the past 12 months. Don’t necessarily expect another 6-1, 6-1 — and hope for something as compelling as their 2023 French Open final, which Świątek won in three sets.

— James Hansen

What happened to the men’s seeds?

Within a few hours Monday, the men’s draw lost three of its top 10 seeds, all of them in apparently surprising ways that became less so with a little digging.

No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur lost to Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4; No. 10 Alexander Bublik lost 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 to Australia’s world No. 117 Rinky Hijikata; and Taylor Fritz, the No. 7 seed, went down to fellow American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-6(6).

Fritz’s defeat was especially sobering, with the 2022 champion admitting in his news conference that he simply hadn’t handled the wind and conditions well. Michelsen, a fellow Southern Californian who often hits with Fritz, is part of a fast-rising group of young Americans led by Learner Tien. The world No. 44 served superbly on the day and provided more evidence that he and Tien are ready to start challenging Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul in the rankings.

For Fritz, it’s another difficult defeat to come to terms with at the start of an up-and-down year so far, as he battles an ongoing knee injury. Michelsen earned the win after a stunning set-point save, and Fritz had ample chances to force a decider that he could not convert.

It was harder for de Minaur and Bublik to take positives from their defeats. In a mid-match exchange with his team, de Minaur explained that he simply didn’t have the power to hit through Norrie’s excellent defense. It was something of a role reversal, given that de Minaur is often the one driving opponents to distraction with his speed and retrieval skills, but Norrie, the 2021 champion, has a game that fits the desert conditions, with his high-bouncing forehand and skidding backhand.

The combustible Bublik, meanwhile, played to type, obliterating his racket after losing the second set against Hijikata.

The main beneficiary from all of this would appear to be Alcaraz. Should he beat Ruud in the fourth round, he’ll face either the No. 27 seed Norrie or a qualifier in Hijikata for a place in the semifinals.

— Charlie Eccleshare

Other notable results in the third round

2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys (15) suffered an upset defeat to Sonay Kartal, who came from a set down and produced a brutally unshakable performance to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Jessica Pegula (5) also came from a set down against the mercurial Jelena Ostapenko in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

Defending men’s champion Jack Draper (14) profited from an indifferent Francisco Cerúndolo (17) performance to win 7-5, 6-1 and set up a meeting with Novak Djokovic (3), who shook off a flat second set against Aleksandar Kovacević to win 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Elina Svitolina (9) notched her 17th win of 2026 — the most of anyone on the WTA Tour — with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Ashlyn Krueger of the U.S.

 Up next: Fourth round

🎾 Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Naomi Osaka (16)

2 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel

A first meeting since 2018 for two players who have paved different paths to tennis success, and now finally collide again nearly eight years later.

🎾 Victoria Mboko (10) vs. Amanda Anisimova (6)

9 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel

A first meeting between two of the most compelling rising talents on the WTA Tour, pitting Anisimova’s point-and-shoot ball striking against Mboko’s ability to shapeshift according to whatever a match may desire.

🎾 João Fonseca vs. Jannik Sinner (2)

9 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel

An acid test for João Fonseca, in his first meeting against one of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner during a tournament in which he has served a reminder of how his potential can translate into the real deal.

Tell us what you noticed in the third round…

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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