Draper To Continue Defence Against ‘Mind-Blowing’ Djokovic At Indian Wells

Jack Draper will continue his Indian Wells title defence against Novak Djokovic after an impressive win on Monday, while Cameron Norrie claimed a major third-round scalp.

British number one Draper beat Argentina’s world number 20 Francisco Cerundolo 6-1 7-5 to set up a last-16 meeting with 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.

Djokovic, the world number three, overcame American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 1-6 6-4 to keep his own campaign going.

British number two Norrie also reached the fourth round by upsetting the sixth seed, Australia’s Alex de Minaur, 6-4 6-4.

Draper, 24, returned last week after an eight-month absence from the ATP Tour because of an arm injury.

And the world number 14 continued his comeback with a more commanding performance than he delivered during his second-round win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

He is glad to be back but eager to stress these are early days in his mission to recover prime form.

“I’m only just getting to the point where I’m playing without pain in my arm, so it’s not easy to feel really confident,” Draper told Sky Sports.

“Obviously I’ve been playing a little bit, but I’ve got to accept that my tennis isn’t going to be completely there for a while.”

Draper claimed the first set inside 32 minutes before Cerundolo provided a sterner test in the second, breaking Draper’s serve in the opening game.

A further break meant Cerundolo had the chance to serve for the set at 5-4 up, but Draper resisted and took the next three games to clinch victory on his first match point.

Draper’s win means he will face 38-year-old Djokovic for the first time since he took the first set off the defending champion on his Wimbledon debut in 2021.

“I’ve been watching him since I was a young boy and in my opinion he’s the greatest player of all-time,” said Draper.

“When you come up against him you know he’s going to be there mentally, you know he’s going to make it an incredibly tough match and play some crazy tennis. I’m going to have to be ready for that.

“Anyone who is in the game and knows tennis, knows that what he has done in the sport and what he is still doing is mind-blowing.”

The victories for Norrie and Draper came a day on from fellow Briton Emma Raducanu being well beaten by American Amanda Anisimova, winning only two games and being ousted in 52 minutes.

Norrie is the 27th seed in the men’s draw but played above that status as he earned three breaks en route to victory over De Minaur.

His next opponent will be Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, who beat Kazakhstan’s 10th seed Alexander Bublik in three sets.

Meanwhile, World number one Carlos Alcaraz survived a tricky encounter against France’s Arthur Rinderknech to progress to the last 16.

The Spaniard trailed by a set and an early break but turned the match around for a 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2 victory, extending his perfect start to the 2026 season to 14-0.

Alcaraz, who struggled with an ankle issue in the second set, said he was not concerned with the problem after moving “perfectly” for the remainder of the match.

The 22-year-old will take on Casper Ruud in the next round after the Norwegian’s 3-6 6-3 6-4 win against 24th seed Valentin Vacherot.