Jack Draper has reached the most significant final of his career by defeating Carlos Alcaraz.
His path to victory was aided by an unprecedented DOUBLE VAR review during the match.
Draper, aged 23, achieved a stunning victory over Alcaraz, the reigning champion of the French Open and Wimbledon, in their highly anticipated semi-final match at Indian Wells.
This prestigious tournament is part of the Masters 1000 series, just below the Grand Slams in importance, and is often considered the "fifth Major" in tennis.
Unseeded Draper is set to compete against 12th seed Holger Rune in the final on Sunday in the Californian desert.
Their match against Alcaraz was a rollercoaster, featuring a peculiar incident early in the decisive set.
Draper dominated the first set 6-1, but Alcaraz retaliated, winning the second set 6-0 in just 53 minutes of play.
A critical moment occurred when Alcaraz was serving at 1-1, 15-15 in the third set.
Following an intense rally, Alcaraz executed a drop shot against his British opponent.
Draper sprinted to reach the ball and managed to flick it back over the net, prompting Alcaraz to chase after it.
However, umpire Mohamed Lahyani immediately announced "not up" over the microphone, believing Draper had not returned the ball before the second bounce, thus awarding the point to Alcaraz.
Draper, certain of his clean return, immediately protested to the umpire, who seemed to realize his potential error.
Utilizing the new video replay technology in tennis, Lahyani reviewed the play with headphones.
The replay clearly showed Draper had indeed hit the ball before the second bounce, and Lahyani acknowledged his mistake.
The umpire announced that the point would be replayed due to his incorrect call.
However, Draper then requested a secondary video review, arguing that he should be awarded the point directly as Alcaraz had no chance to return the shot.
Draper stated, "He wasn’t even close to the ball. Mohamed, he was nowhere near it. Can we review that on video?"
Lahyani initially hesitated but then agreed to re-examine the incident, including Alcaraz’s missed return.
Subsequently, he confirmed, "After review, ladies and gentlemen, the ‘not up’ call was late, and therefore the point goes to Mr. Draper."
This decision was met with cheers and applause from the audience.
Alcaraz, who technically could have requested a third review to determine if the call had distracted him, and Draper briefly discussed the situation at the net before resuming play.
This decision proved pivotal, as Draper seized the next two points, breaking Alcaraz’s serve.
He secured another break for a 5-2 lead, faced a slight setback while serving for the match, but ultimately clinched victory at 5-4 on his first match point.
Draper has now won two out of three matches against four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, with their previous victory at Queen’s Club last summer.
The Surrey native, who has already claimed ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles in his career from 2024, is set to face Rune in what is arguably the most important match of his career, following Rune’s semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev.
