Carlos Alcaraz has been on a roll at Indian Wells. He has already breezed past four of his opponents and moved into the semifinals for the fifth consecutive time. His shot selection during the competition has once again been flawless, and one of the shots that he has used the most is the drop shot. And while the Spaniard is superb at playing the drop shot, he feels that many others have mastered it.

When asked which player has the best drop shot on tour, the World No.1 mentioned a few names. The first of them was that of France’s Corentin Moutet.

“The best drop shot… I have a few in mind. Obviously, Moutet has one of the best drop shots and one of the best touches in general,” Alcaraz said after his victory in the clash against Cameron Norrie.

“I also love Djokovic’s drop shot. His backhand drop shot, when he does it, it’s really nice. Apart from that, Dimitrov probably has a good one, great touch as well, and these are the first players that come to my mind.”

While Alcaraz undoubtedly has a phenomenal drop shot, his forehand shot is also one of his biggest weapons. Notably, he scored a massive 19 forehand winners against Norrie during their clash at Indian Wells, where the World No.1 prevailed 6-3, 6-4. There aren’t many players in the world who have a reply to his powerful forehand shots. The 22-year-old keeps on improving his shot-making year by year and has been playing on a completely different level than the others in 2026.

With his win over Norrie in the quarterfinal, Alcaraz extended his unbeaten streak to 16 matches. He is yet to lose a match in 2026, and if it continues like this, then it can turn out to be one of the most successful years of his career. After winning both the Australian Open and Qatar Open, he has continued to reign supreme at Indian Wells, too. He will now be locking horns against a familiar but formidable opponent in the semi-finals.

Alcaraz set to face former World No.1 in the semis

The Spaniard will be coming up against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Open. The two have previously faced each other on eight occasions, and Alcaraz currently leads the H2H by 6-2. He has dominated the match-up as of late and has emerged victorious in all of the previous four encounters.

While Medvedev’s last win over Alcaraz may date back to September 2023, the former World No.1 will certainly not be a walk in the park. He had come into the Indian Wells Open after winning the Dubai Championships last month and is yet to lose a set in the ongoing tournament. The 30-year-old made it to the last 4 after defeating Jack Draper in the quarterfinals. It is safe to say that Alcaraz’s match against Medvedev will be a must-watch.

Apart from this match-up, the other semi-final of Indian Wells will see Jannik Sinner take on Alexander Zverev in what is also expected to be a blockbuster clash. While another Alcaraz vs. Sinner final is very much anticipated, it won’t be a big surprise if the other two contenders end up making it to the penultimate match instead.