The world No. 1 congratulated the Russian for his great match and admitted to being surprised by his high level: "I can only congratulate him, he fully deserves this victory."
Russian surprises Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semifinals and will compete tomorrow for the title against Jannik Sinner. After 16 victories, the Murcian suffers his first defeat in 2026.
Two months after facing each other in the final of the Australian Open, the Belarusian and Kazakh will meet again with a WTA 1000 title at stake.
The Italian compares his top 10 era with the current circuit, where Sinner and Alcaraz clearly dominate: "I am curious to see if a third will appear..."
