World number one Carlos Alcaraz battled back to defeat Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 and remain unbeaten in 2026 in reaching the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 on Monday (March 9, 2026).
Alcaraz had to dig deep against the big-serving Frenchman, who fended off a set point on the way to winning the first-set tiebreaker.
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Rinderknech then produced the first service break of the match to put the Spaniard in a hole in the opening game of the second.
Alcaraz responded with an immediate break back, ramping up the pressure on Rinderknech’s serve on the way to a decisive break in the sixth game.
When Alcaraz broke again to open the third set he was on his way, rolling to his sixth win over 26th-ranked Rinderknech in six career meetings.
Alcaraz, 22, became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with his victory at the Australian Open.
He followed that up with the Qatar Open title and with two wins under his belt in Indian Wells is now 14-0 on the season.
Alcaraz, a two-time Indian Wells champion, will face 13th-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud for a place in the quarter-finals.
Ruud beat Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Published - March 10, 2026 10:45 am IST
