In a match that felt like a generational tug-of-war, defending champion Jack Draper pulled off the biggest win of his 2026 comeback, upsetting five-time winner Novak Djokovic in a grueling fourth-round encounter. The 24-year-old Briton displayed nerves of steel to outlast the 38-year-old Serbian legend 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), extending his unbeaten streak in the California desert to nine matches.
Draper, who missed the latter half of 2025 due to a persistent arm injury, proved that his 2025 title run was no fluke. For Djokovic, the defeat ends a spirited quest to reclaim the Indian Wells crown for the first time since 2016.
“I have a bitter feeling right now, losing a match like this,” Djokovic said on Thursday.
“But proud of myself for fighting and really giving it all on the court. That’s for sure.
“That’s the one thing that I’ll take as a highlight. Just the fact of not giving up and trying. I lost to a great player, and it was really such an even match throughout the entire two-and-a-half hours. But I am just a bit disappointed.”
The contest began with Djokovic appearing clinical and untouchable on serve. The World No. 3 dictated play with his trademark precision, breaking Draper in the tenth game to secure the opening set 6-4. However, the momentum shifted early in the second set when Draper found his range with his heavy left-handed forehand, breaking Djokovic immediately to race to a 2-0 lead. Though Djokovic briefly leveled the score at 3-3, Draper broke again in the ninth game and served out the set to force a decider.
THE POINT THAT BROKE NOVAK
The third set featured some of the most breathless tennis of the season. In the very first game, the two players engaged in a breathtaking 26-shot rally involving lobs, drop shots, and cross-court sprints that ended with Djokovic collapsing in exhaustion after winning the point.
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While Djokovic won the point, which made it to the highlights reel, it had an impact on his fuel reserve.
Draper broke for a 5-4 lead but faltered while serving for the match, allowing Djokovic to force a tiebreak. In the high-stakes shootout, Djokovic surged to a double mini-break lead at 4-3, but the younger Draper reeled off four of the final five points to seal the win in two hours and 35 minutes.
“It cost me a break after. It was great winning that point in that game, but I just ran completely out of gas and just started to feel a bit better towards the end of the third,” Djokovic said.
“He played a sloppy game to close it out 5-4, and I got the crowd backing me and I felt the energy. It was, like, ‘Maybe I’m going to take this one’. It was so close, so close. Just unfortunate, few mistakes from my side.”
Despite the exit, Djokovic’s run to the quarterfinals showed flashes of the form that took him to the Australian Open final earlier this year. His path through the 2026 Indian Wells draw was far from easy, but the Serb overcame the likes of Kamil Majchrzak and Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets in the previous rounds.
Djokovic leaves the desert with a 2026 record of 8-2, having only lost to Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne and now Draper in California.
In the men’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz clinicaly dismissed Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(2) and Daniil Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4, while Jannik Sinner survived two tiebreaks to outlast Joao Fonseca.
