Alcaraz Powers into Indian Wells Quarter-finals; Draper Upsets Djokovic

11 March 2026, US, Indian Wells: Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz celebrates defeating Norway's Casper Ruud during their men's singles round of 16 match at the BNP Paribas Open held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 March 2026, US, Indian Wells: Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz celebrates defeating Norway's Casper Ruud during their men's singles round of 16 match at the BNP Paribas Open held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Alcaraz Powers into Indian Wells Quarter-finals; Draper Upsets Djokovic

11 March 2026, US, Indian Wells: Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz celebrates defeating Norway's Casper Ruud during their men's singles round of 16 match at the BNP Paribas Open held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 March 2026, US, Indian Wells: Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz celebrates defeating Norway's Casper Ruud during their men's singles round of 16 match at the BNP Paribas Open held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway's Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(2), while Jack Draper upset world number three Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-4 7-6(5) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.

Alcaraz relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud's serve three times.

Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.

"The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great," two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.

"My first set was incredible I'm really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I'll play this level on the next round."

Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, ⁠who earlier beat ⁠Australia's Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year's Paris Masters.

Defending champion Draper claimed one of the biggest wins of his career by beating Djokovic in a deciding-set tie-break after two hours and 35 minutes.

Draper, who trailed after dropping the opener 6–4, stormed into the second set by breaking Djokovic early and surviving multiple break points before sealing it with aggressive baseline play.

Djokovic won a stunning 26-shot rally at 30-all in the opening game of the decider, but Draper surged to leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before the 38-year-old Serb battled back to ⁠5-5 and then broke the Briton as he first served for the match.

The 24-year-old kept his composure, forced the tie-break and dominated it to close out a statement victory.

"I still don't feel like I'm playing anywhere near the way I want to play," Draper said in an on-court interview, according to Reuters.

"I came out here tonight and I won that match through determination and trying to problem-solve and do my best and have a great attitude.

"I'm proud of the way I regrouped. I haven't been playing on the tour (in) a long time, so to put away guys who are top players, it's something that comes with confidence."

Draper will next face Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month's Dubai Open.

World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, ⁠reeling off 10 consecutive games ⁠to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.

"I felt I was playing better and better, just great," Swiatek said.

"I love playing here ... It's a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end."

Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.

American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.

Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set - her first ever against the Swiss - before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.

Third seed Elena Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals after Sonay Kartal retired while trailing 6-4 4-3.

Rybakina, the 2023 champion, controlled most of the match, surging to a double-break lead in the opening set and steadying after Kartal took multiple medical timeouts.

Although the Briton briefly recovered to level the second set at 3-3, Rybakina broke in the seventh game before Kartal stopped.

Rybakina next faces Pegula, a rematch of their Australian Open semifinal.



White House: None More Deserving of FIFA Peace Prize Than Trump

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026.  REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
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White House: None More Deserving of FIFA Peace Prize Than Trump

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026.  REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo

The White House has hit back at critics of Donald Trump being awarded the FIFA Peace Prize, saying there is none more deserving than the US president.

Global soccer governing body FIFA gave Trump the inaugural award at the World Cup draw in December for "promoting peace and unity around the world", triggering condemnation from human rights groups and activists in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Australian ⁠soccer player Jackson ⁠Irvine said this week that giving the award to Trump made a mockery of FIFA's Human Rights Policy, while Norway's soccer federation said FIFA should abolish the award.

The White House responded by saying ⁠Trump's "Peace through Strength foreign policy" had ended eight wars in less than a year.

"There is no one else in the world more deserving of FIFA’s first ever Peace Prize than President Trump. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement.

The US, which ⁠is co-hosting ⁠the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, launched a military strike on Venezuela a month after the draw for the tournament was made and began joint airstrikes with Israel on Iran on February 28.

Trump frequently invokes his success at resolving international conflicts and has said on numerous occasions that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.


Sabalenka Stunned by Baptiste in Madrid Open Quarter-finals

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
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Sabalenka Stunned by Baptiste in Madrid Open Quarter-finals

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock 2-6 6-2 7-6(6) defeat by Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open on Tuesday as the American produced the biggest win of her career after saving six match points to reach the semi-finals for the first time.

The 24-year-old Baptiste, seeded 30, claimed her first victory over a top-five player, handing ⁠defending champion Sabalenka ⁠only her second defeat of the season.

The 30th seed will now face world number nine Mirra Andreeva, after the Russian got past Canada's Leylah Fernandez 7-6(1) 6-3 in the quarter-finals ⁠earlier on Tuesday.

"Incredible. Super proud of myself," Reuters quoted Baptiste as saying. "It was a super tight match, 7-6 in the third. Had to fight off match points. I'm really happy right now.

"It just shows me where my game lies. I've always believed it. Now I'm starting to put it into action and the world ⁠is ⁠seeing it as well."

The defeat of top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka is the latest upset at the WTA 1000 clay tournament that has seen the top seven seeds knocked out.

Baptiste is guaranteed to reach a career-high ranking of at least 24th after also reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, where she lost to Sabalenka.


FIFA Enacts New World Cup Rule on Yellow Cards to Help Avoid Player Bans in Knockout Rounds

A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
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FIFA Enacts New World Cup Rule on Yellow Cards to Help Avoid Player Bans in Knockout Rounds

A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL

FIFA has tweaked World Cup rules on yellow cards to ensure fewer players are suspended for key elimination games.

An extra amnesty for yellow cards — wiping player disciplinary records twice during the expanded tournament in North America — was proposed to a meeting Tuesday of FIFA’s ruling council. Later FIFA issued a statement confirming the change.

“Reflective of the expanded format with an extra knockout round, the FIFA Council confirmed an amendment to the regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 whereby single yellow cards in the final competition will be canceled after the group stage and then again after the quarterfinals,” it said.

At the World Cup, players must serve a one-game ban if they are shown a yellow card in two different games but single yellow cards were canceled at previous tournaments after the quarterfinals stage. That ensured no player would miss the final through suspension just because of getting a yellow card in the semifinal, The Associated Press reported.

The expanded 48-team World Cup format, with an extra round-of-32 knockout stage, led to a FIFA review aimed at helping keep players on the field.

FIFA cleared the disciplinary records of players who have one yellow card after the three-game group stage so they start the knockout phase afresh. A second amnesty after the quarterfinals will apply for players who got one yellow during the three previous knockout rounds and whose teams advanced to the semifinals.

FIFA also announced Tuesday an increase in financial resources to be distributed to all 48 World Cup participating teams by a further 15%, totaling $871 million, or just over $18 million per team. The new figures include an increase in preparation money from $1.5 million to $2.5 million per team and an increase in qualification money from $9 million to $10 million.

The World Cup will be played June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.