World no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain secured a milestone moment in his career by notching his 100th tour-level win after beating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(4), 6-3 in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters, here on Monday night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With his 100-32 tour-level record, the 19-year-old has earned second place on the list of fewest matches to 100 wins among players to reach No. 1 in the ATP Rankings at some stage during their career.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Only American great John McEnroe (100-31) reached his century faster than Alcaraz, who sits above Andre Agassi (100-35), Rafael Nadal (100-37), and Mats Wilander\/Jimmy Connors (both 100-38) on the list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Spaniard has his sights set on bigger goals this week by winning the Indian Wells title and returning to World No. 1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm really proud to get my 100th win on the ATP Tour and I hope it's the first 100 of many. Honestly, I searched that start today, (but) I didn't know. I thought it was in the next round," Alcaraz was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Alcaraz won a closely contested opening set, raising his level in the tie-break after the aggressive Griekspoor matched him shot for shot to that point. While the Spaniard did not consistently hit the heights of his opening-round win against Thanasi Kokkinakis, he still produced plenty of show-stopping winners, complete with his usual complement of drop shots.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Some precision passing shots helped Alcaraz take a 3-0 lead in set two, with the Spaniard saving his first two break points of the tournament to consolidate an early break. Down 0\/30 as he served out the match, he dialed up the power to win the final four points of the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Next up for Alcaraz is Briton Jack Draper, who defeated Andy Murray 7-6(6), 6-2 earlier on Monday night. The pair will contest a second ATP Head-to-Head meeting on Tuesday evening, after Alcaraz won a three-setter in Basel last October.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Some precision passing shots helped Alcaraz take a 3-0 lead in set two, with the Spaniard saving his first two break points of the tournament to consolidate an early break. Down 0\/30 as he served out the match, he dialed up the power to win the final four points of the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n