Photo Source: TTV
Indian Wells, California – Carlos Alcaraz continues to close in on history at Indian Wells.
The 21-year-old Spaniard made light work of Grigor Dimitrov on a blustery evening at the BNP Paribas Open, cruising past the Bulgarian 6-1 6-1 in 74 minutes to stretch his winning streak to 15 at the Masters 1000 event.
Alcaraz’s win sets a quarterfinal clash with Argentina’s Francisco Alcaraz in the night session on Thursday in the California desert.
The wind picked up to high intensity inside Stadium 1, but it didn’t face the No.2 seed. Alcaraz embraces the wind, and he told reporters that he prides himself on his performance in those conditions.
“I always say that I like playing with wind, with these conditions,” he said. “I think I adapted my game really well to these conditions. I think to play with such a huge wind is to believe in your physical conditions and to believe that you're going to reach every ball.”
The statline backs up Alcaraz’s assessment. The Spaniard hit 20 winners against 14 unforced errors, while Dimitrov managed only 12 winners and 28 unforced errors.
Dimitrov had won two straight against Alcaraz, but tonight’s match on a slower surface in difficult conditions tilted the court in the Spaniard’s favor.
“I think Grigor plays more aggressively with less time, so I think that's why I adapt much better in these conditions in today's match,” he said.