Carlos Alcaraz earns comeback win vs. Arthur Rinderknech in Indian Wells, extends perfect season

Indian Wells

Alcaraz escapes 'trouble' vs. Rinderknech, extends perfect season in Indian Wells

Spaniard trailed by a set and a break

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz improves to 14-0 on the season. By ATP Staff

Carlos Alcaraz turned a sticky situation into a runaway victory with a scintillating close to his evening showdown with Arthur Rinderknech on Monday at the BNP Paribas Open. Trailing the big-serving Frenchman by a set and an early break, Alcaraz turned the match on its head for a comfortable 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 victory in Indian Wells, extending his perfect start to the 2026 season to 14-0.

"He was playing his best tennis, I would say, in the first, the beginning of the second. For me, it was really, really difficult," said Alcaraz, who was pegged back by an aggressive start from Rinderknech. "I got in trouble, to be honest, but just really happy with the way that I dealt with everything that was happening. I accepted it, kept going, stayed strong mentally and then tried to do a little bit different... I think I just started to play more solid, waiting for my chances."

Alcaraz nearly stole a tight opening set, but mishit a forehand on set point at 6/5 after clawing back from 2/5. Rinderknech took full advantage to take the tie-break, then pressed home his advantage with an opening break in the second set.

But after saving both break points against him in the opening set with fearless tennis, Rinderknech could not consolidate that early break in set two. Alcaraz broke on four of 10 break chances across sets two and three, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and overwhelmed his opponent after finding his groove on the stadium court.

Even a minor ankle worry could not stop Alcaraz's race to the finish, with a misstep briefly causing concern early in set two. While Alcaraz plans to have his physio check out the ankle, his play seemed to provide all the answers he needed: "I moved in the third set perfectly, so hopefully tomorrow is going to be like nothing at all," he said.

In addition to stretching his winning streak to start the season — a run that includes titles at the Australian Open and Doha — Alcaraz also earned his 32nd straight victory on outdoor hard courts, dating back to Miami last year. Alcaraz also improved to 6-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Rinderknech, who has now lost 11 of his past 12 sets against the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Alcaraz will next bring a 5-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head record into his last-16 meeting with Casper Ruud. The 13th-seeded Norwegian also came from behind to advance on Monday, beating 24th seed Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Daniil Medvedev closed out the men's evening action with a 6-4, 6-0 decision against Sebastian Baez on Stadium 2. Both men entered the match with a Tour-leading 14 wins this season, and with Monday's result Medvedev became the first man to reach 15 singles victories on the year.

The World No. 11 is on a six-match winning streak dating back to the start of his Dubai title run late last month.

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