After winning his 16th Indian Wells match in a row to set up a semifinal against Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz’s message in the now customary signing of the TV camera lens made perfect sense.

“Should I buy a house here?” he asked. Iga Swiatek might be wondering the same thing, since she, too, could win a third title at the BNP Paribas Open this weekend. Indian Wells is clearly one of the Spaniard’s happy places, which is crucial for the immensely gifted 21-year-old.

Alcaraz often smiles on court yet he has also spoken about how his enjoyment sometimes wanes as he copes with tennis’ demanding schedule and varying playing conditions. That’s not an issue for him in the desert, where Alcaraz gets to partake in one of his most pleasurable hobbies, golf, during down time.

“I'm lucky enough to bring family with me to tournaments, but I think tennis is a lonely sport,” he said. “So sometimes when you have or you feel peaceful in the place you're going, you feel great. That's this case here. I feel peace. So I just feel great that way with the people that I have around."

“That's why it makes this place really beautiful to me, and I think that's why I show my
best tennis here.” On court, Alcaraz wins matches in different ways. No wonder he bagged majors in slicker conditions on grass at Wimbledon and on the clay at the French Open.

In blustery and chilly weather Thursday night in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz opted to go to the net 31 times against Francisco Cerundolo — and won 22 of those points. “I didn't feel as good as other days from the baseline, so I had to find another way,” he said.

Who knows then the game plan against Draper, who is competing in a maiden Masters semifinal. A lengthy stay at Masters 1000 level was always coming for the British left-hander. Tennis onlookers have known about his talent for a while and Draper made the semifinals at last year’s US Open.

Showing how much Alcaraz respects the 23-year-old — on and off the court — the two were supposed to train together in Spain during the off-season. But a hip injury to Draper scuppered those plans.

Injuries and questions surrounding his fitness have been an ever present although they appear to be a little more in the rearview mirror. Draper won three straight five-set matches at the Australian Open, where he then had to retire against Alcaraz in round four. He retired in 2023, too, in Indian Wells against Alcaraz.

In their last completed match on grass in London ahead of Wimbledon, Draper prevailed in straight sets on home soil last June. It was Alcaraz’s first event since winning the French Open — something the grounded Draper noted afterwards. Draper, however, feels he has the game to beat anyone.

“I mean, me and my coach are big believers that if I put my game on the court and if I do the right things, then, I can honestly beat anyone,” he said. “Obviously at this level, the margins are so small. Maybe there is a couple of things tactically, maybe where the person likes to serve a little bit more, where maybe my positioning could be on the return, but everyone is so good that it's kind of like I can beat them and they can beat me, because they can play amazing tennis and I can also play amazing tennis.”

Another win for Draper puts him in the rarefied air of the Top 10 for the first time. “I don't think about it at all,” said Draper, whose dad, Roger, used to lead Britain’s tennis governing body, the LTA. “I just don't know. There are so many things I could think about, but obviously in tennis it's a sport where I just have to keep on going. It's one tournament after the next.”

Who was the last player to beat Alcaraz in Indian Wells?

A lefty, albeit one who won 22 Grand Slams, Rafael Nadal.