‘Should I buy a house here?’ Alcaraz continues to lay down roots in Indian Wells

Real estate moguls of the Coachella Valley take note, Carlos Alcaraz remains in the market at the BNP Paribas Open.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame a tough test from Francisco Cerundolo on Thursday night to extend his Indian Wells winning streak to 16 matches. Alcaraz may only have been joking when he wrote ‘Should I buy a house here?’ on the camera after his win, but the Spaniard later spoke about the sense of comfort he feels when competing at the ATP Masters 1000, where he is a two-time champion and holds a 20-2 record overall.

“I think in tennis — and I have talked like this with a lot of players — we have a team," said Alcaraz. "Talking about myself, I have a big team. I'm lucky enough to bring family with me to tournaments, but I think tennis is a lonely sport. So sometimes when you feel peaceful in the place you're going, you feel great.

“So that's the case for me here. I feel peace. Here it is peaceful. I just feel great, with the people that I have around. That's why it makes this place really beautiful for me, and I think that's why I show my best tennis here.”

Home is where the wins are 🏠@carlosalcaraz | @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/DlkiaoFoq0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 14, 2025

Any potential house-buyers in the California desert would be wise to first check for strong foundations if Thursday night’s conditions at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden are anything to go by. Alcaraz completed his 6-3, 7-6(4) quarter-final win as strong gusts blew across Stadium 1,

“I think today was a little bit tougher than yesterday. I think it was more windy, colder,” said Alcaraz, comparing his match against Cerundolo to his dominant 6-1, 6-1 fourth-round triumph against Grigor Dimitrov. “So the conditions were really tough, but I think I didn't play as good as yesterday. Tennis is about not having a great day every day, so you have to play with [the best that you have] that day.

"I think today I just survived. I just saved a lot of break points, a lot of chances to his favour. I’m just really happy about it. I think I just played decent match or a good match with those conditions.”

Standing between Alcaraz and a third consecutive championship match in Indian Wells is 13th seed Jack Draper, who earlier secured a spot in his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Ben Shelton. Alcaraz holds a 3-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead over the in-form British lefty, who is 12-2 in 2025.

“I think he has a lot of rhythm, a lot of pace, great shots,” said Alcaraz, who has prevailed in all three of the pair’s tour-level meetings on hard courts, although two of those came via a Draper retirement. “I think his style of play suits these conditions pretty well. I think his forehand with topspin bounces a lot, and he has a big serve. The times that I have played against him, I think two of them he got injured, and the last one recently in Australia.

“So I'm just excited about playing him again. It seems he's in really good shape right now. I think he's ambitious, and he always goes for it. So that's makes him a really tough opponent. I'm pretty sure he's going to be one of the toughest on the Tour in the future or in the next year. I’m Just really happy to share these kind of moments with him. I also think it's going to be a really good match to watch and to play.”

If Alcaraz can defeat Draper and go on to lift his sixth Masters 1000 trophy in Indian Wells, the Spaniard would also make a significant move in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The 21-year-old, who won his first title of 2025 in Rotterdam in early February, would tie current Live Race leader Jannik Sinner on 2,000 points.