Indian Wells: Alcaraz gets second win against Auger-Aliassime to enter round 16

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz used a seven-game blitz to take command against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 20-year-old Spaniard scored a 6-2, 6-3 third-round victory to extend his Indian Wells winning streak to eight matches, continuing his bid to advance to the semi-finals for the third straight year in the desert.

Alcaraz still trails his Lexus ATP Head2Head with Auger-Aliassime 2-3, but has now won each of their past two meetings in consecutive years in Indian Wells. The Canadian was bidding for his first Top 5 win since the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals; a victory also would have made him just the third player with four or more tour-level wins against Alcaraz (Zverev – 5, Sinner – 4).

“I think he didn’t get that many points with his serves. I think he lives with his serve,” Alcaraz said after winning 46 per cent of points (16/35) against the Canadian’s first delivery.

“I put almost every return in, playing the point. I felt that I’m better than him from the baseline, putting some good points on the court and I think it went well. I played aggressive with less mistakes. I think it was almost a perfect match for me.”

Next up for the Spaniard is a fourth-round showdown with Fabian Marozsan, a chance for Alcaraz to avenge his shock defeat to the Hungarian last May in Rome.

Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced early on Sunday in Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-3 win against home favourite Frances Tiafoe.

The Greek converted on four of six break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and now awaits fifth seed Andrey Rublev or 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka in the last 16.