Carlos Alcaraz overcame a set and a break deficit to defeat Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 in the third round at Indian Wells, moving to 14-0 in 2026. The world No. 1 recovered after a slow start to assert control over the final two sets and advance in the tournament.

The victory completes a strong opening to the season that already included seven match wins en route to the Australian Open title, five wins en route to the title in Doha and two wins at Indian Wells. Those results are part of a broader run: Alcaraz has now won 70 of his last 75 matches on tour, a stretch that reaches back to the start of last April.

Only five defeats interrupt that stretch over the last 11 months. They came to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final on clay; to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final on grass; and to Taylor Fritz at the Laver Cup, to Cam Norrie in his first match in Paris, and to Sinner again in the ATP Finals final. The last three losses occurred on indoor hard courts at the end of last year.

Alcaraz’s form on outdoor hard courts during this period is particularly striking. He remains undefeated on outdoor hard courts in the span, compiling a 32-0 record since a loss to David Goffin in Miami last year. The Indian Wells comeback underlined both his resilience in adverse moments and the depth of consistency that has underpinned his run.

As the tournament progresses, the world No. 1 will carry that momentum into his next match, while the statistical arc of 70 wins in 75 matches highlights a level of sustained excellence across different surfaces and stages of major events.

Alex Michelsen produced a composed, high-energy performance to defeat seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open. The world No. 44 combined aggressive ball-striking with careful wind management to take control early and close out the match.

Michelsen set the tone from the start, using deeper drives and improved serving to pressure Fritz. He opened with a decisive break at 1-1 in the first set and closed that set at 15. Fritz, the tournament’s higher seed and a past champion here, struggled with the gusty conditions for much of the match. “I think that I struggled a lot with the wind in the beginning,” he said. “I was trying to be aggressive, and when I was trying to be aggressive with the wind, I just couldn’t. Just made a lot of mistakes mistiming the ball, so I kind of had to just accept that wasn’t really working and try to just put more balls in the court.”

Fritz mounted a late push in the second set, saving match points to force the tiebreak and briefly shifting momentum with a well-executed break point sequence when Michelsen was serving for the match at 5-4. Still, Michelsen showed resilience in the breaker, recovering from errors and converting opportunities to finish the match. “Yeah, definitely got a little lucky at the end,” said Michelsen, “but stayed as tough as I could. Had a tough game at 5-4, felt like I should have served it out there, but stayed composed.”

Michelsen finished with nine aces, won 57 percent of his second-serve points to Fritz’s 39 percent, and saved seven of eight break points. “To beat someone like Taylor, you have to go out there and have a lot of energy,” said Michelsen. “I feel like that’s also kind of my style. I’m one of those guys that shows a little more energy, shows a little more positivity and negativity. Both ways, right?”

The victory marked Michelsen’s first time winning two matches at Indian Wells and ended a stretch in which he had not won consecutive matches over his previous four tournaments. “It’s a very important win,” said Michelsen. “Top ten player, been top American for many years, someone I have looked up to for a long time.”

Alex Michelsen continued a strong run at the BNP Paribas Open by defeating No. 7 seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) to reach the tournament’s fourth round. The win marked a career-best result for Michelsen at a Sunshine Swing event and kept pace with his friend and fellow Southern California rising star Learner Tien, who had advanced earlier with an upset of Ben Shelton.

The pair are closely linked as contemporaries from the same competitive Southern California circuit, and Michelsen said Tien’s result gave him extra motivation ahead of his match with Fritz.

Q. Seeing Learner beat Ben yesterday, did that in any way fire you up to come out on this one?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I mean, yeah, a little bit. I was super happy for him. I talked to him after the match. I was texting him, and he texted me after I won today.

Yeah, it’s always nice when we try and go like this to each other, try and one-up each other. He’s definitely beating me right now, so I have to catch him eventually. It’s really fun.

We’re both doing super well at the same tournament. Doesn’t happen very often, but we’re enjoying it a lot, and we’re rooting for each other, for sure.

Q. You and Learner both came up through kind of the cauldron of the Southern California very competitive section. Give me some thoughts on how that helped you become a pro player.

ALEX MICHELSEN: Growing up, everyone in our section was super, super good. Learner was always at the top. He was at the top since he was 12. I wasn’t always at the top.

There were so many good guys. A lot of them I’m still friends with, because we played the same tournaments for years and years. I think that really helped my development. You don’t have to travel a lot. If you’re from Nebraska, you’ve got to go somewhere else, right?

I was super lucky, never really had to drive more than an hour to tournaments growing up. Great competition, great training. Got super lucky there.

Tien is closing in on a Top 20 debut after kicking off the year with a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals. Michelsen is not far behind: he reached a career-high of No. 30 in the ATP rankings last summer following his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the National Bank Open in Toronto.