Boris Becker sends message to Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper for their classy exchange after Indian Wells encounter
Boris Becker praised Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper for their classy interaction after a tense Indian Wells semifinal battle. The Brit won the match in three sets to advance to the title clash against Holger Rune.
Draper and Alcaraz faced off at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, March 15 in the semifinal. The Spaniard led their head-to-head going into the match 3-1 and was the favorite to win.
However, Draper was off the blocks in exceptional fashion and bagged the first set 6-1. Alcaraz's comeback was as impressive if not better as he won the second 6-0. The decider was marred by controversy.
At 1-1 (15-15) on the Spaniard's serve, a contentious call from the chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani led to two VAR interventions and a point being awarded to the Brit. He eventually earned the crucial break in this game and won the set 6-4.
After the match, Draper celebrated reaching his first Masters 1000 final via a post on Instagram. He shared a carousel of images from his semifinal battle, including one embracing Alcaraz after the match. He captioned the post:
"Huge respect to @carlitosalcarazz ..looking forward to many more battles !! Final tomorrow ⏰🔛"
Alcaraz was classy in his response, writing:
"Can’t wait for the revange! Good luck in the final! 🙏🏽"
An X account shared a screenshot of their Instagram interaction and tennis legend Boris Becker reshared it, adding:
"Very cool these 2 players"
With the help of this win, Draper will also make his debut in the ATP Top 10. He will be ranked World No. 7 if he wins the final and World No. 8 if he loses.
Boris Becker agreed to Carlos Alcaraz's 'tennis is about getting the win' speech after Indian Wells win
After getting the better of Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinal of the Indian Wells event, Carlos Alcaraz opened up about his winning mentality.
"Tennis is about getting the win," Carlos Alcaraz said during the post-match interview. "It doesn't matter how you do it. You're not thinking about playing great tennis every match, every day. These kind of matches, you have to get through with the level that you have that day."
His comments were posted on X and tennis legend Boris Becker shared them, adding:
"Word"
Boris Becker had even praised Carlos Alcaraz's "charisma" and his "infectious" smile. However, the Spaniard could not complete a three-peat of the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells after facing defeat against Jack Draper in a hard-fought semifinal.
Meanwhile, Draper will take on Holger Rune in the final on Sunday, March 16. This will be the second time they face off on tour, with the Dane winning their only battle in Cincinnati last year.