Tennis Paradise has always been a happy place for Carlos Alcaraz.

Sunshine, good vibes, big wins.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

The two-time champion remained perfect in 2026 on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Stadium 1, taking out Norway’s Casper Ruud, 6-1, 7-6(2), to improve to 15-0 on the season and 23-3 at Indian Wells.

“Today the ball was tough to control, coming super fast and bouncing super high,” Alcaraz said of the balmy weather that allowed for fast-playing court conditions. “But we played great, both of us.”

The 22-year-old seven-time major champion is bidding to become one of four players to have won three or more Indian Wells singles titles this century, and he is now one of four players to have reached five consecutive quarterfinals in the California desert.

The others? Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Additionally, he is the first man to reach five quarterfinals here before turning 23.

On the front foot

Alcaraz set the tone with a break in the first game of the match, then further excited the crowd with a quintessential Alcaraz moment: a devilish topspin lob, taken out of the air, that had Ruud scratching his head just over ten minutes into the match.

“He didn’t make that — that’s obscene,” exclaimed two-time Indian Wells champion Jim Courier, who commentated the match for Tennis Channel.

The Norwegian netted a forehand moments later and took a dejected walk to his chair, now trailing 3-0 in the first set. The rest of the opening set went without resistance.

“My first set was unplayable, to be honest,” Alcaraz said. “I was really happy to be playing at that kind of level.”

Ruud rose to the challenge in the second. The three-time major finalist brought some of his own electricity to the big stage on Wednesday. He rifled a jaw-dropping forehand passing shot to level the set at three-all.

The Norwegian made it all the way through the set without facing a break point, but Alcaraz turned on the style in the tiebreak, making several winners for the highlight reel as he raced to victory.

Alcaraz will face 2021 champion Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Medvedev moves on 

Two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev also continued his winning ways in Tennis Paradise, notching a 6-2, 6-4 win over 21-year-old American Alex Michelsen to reach the quarterfinals. 

Medvedev, who fell to Alcaraz in the 2023 and 2024 finals, will face either Novak Djokovic or Jack Draper in the quarterfinals. The 29-year-old, fresh off winning the Dubai title, stretched his current winning streak to seven with an imperious performance in Stadium 2. 

“I think in general I had a great level,” the former World No. 1 said. “I was putting a lot of pressure on his serve, and even in the second set, which was tighter, I had two games where I had break points to go double break up. On one of them I remember he made an amazing volley on the first break point.

“Could have been a bit more in front, but then in the end it got a bit tight. But I am happy with the way I played, the way I served, basically with everything.”