Carlos Alcaraz warns that he has arrived at Indian Wells: The insane shot that destroyed his third-round rival

Carlos Alcaraz is flying for his three-peat at the BNP Paribas Open. The Spaniard started his journey on the hard courts of Indian Wells Tennis Garden with a victory over Quentin Halys, but his triumph over Denis Shapovalov showed his rivals what the two-time champion has in store for them.

Alcaraz started the 2025 ATP season calmly. So far, he has only participated in four tournaments: he lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam, fell in the quarterfinals of Doha, and started on the right foot in the defense of his two-time championship in Indian Wells.

After a bye in the first round, the ATP number three easily dispatched Halys in the second round with a score of 6-4 and 6-2, thus setting up a date to face Shapovalov in the third round. Alcaraz started the match shaky, but as soon as he woke up, he completely took control of the contest.

Alcaraz’s incredible return that dismantled Shapovalov

Shapovalov never had a chance. After breaking his opponent’s serve and going 1-0 up, Alcaraz took a 40-30 lead on his serve. His more aggressive game and excellent reflexes immediately turned the tide of the match in favor of the Spaniard.

Alcaraz served and immediately went to the net. Shapovalov tried to surprise him with a passing shot, but, with cat-like reflexes, Alcaraz stopped and managed to hit the ball. Shapovalov still answered this shot, but with control of the rally, Alcaraz simply tapped the ball out of his opponent’s reach to take the point.

That was it for Shapovalov. Alcaraz won the match 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the round of 16, where he will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Alcaraz owns Indian Wells

With this win, Alcaraz set his career record in Indian Wells at 18 wins and two losses, behind only the legendary Jimmy Connors, who was 19-1 in his first 20 games at this tournament.

The Spaniard is just four victories away from making history. If he wins his third consecutive title at Indian Wells, Alcaraz will join Roger Federer – who won titles in 2004, 2005, and 2006 – and Novak Djokovic, champion in 2014, 2015, and 2016.