Jack Draper books his maiden ATP Masters final as British No1 downs Carlos Alcaraz in helter-skelter three-set clash at Indian Wells

Jack Draper earned the biggest win of his life against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells with a double helping hand from the VAR.

A bizarre moment in the deciding set when Draper used the challenge system twice in one point turned the tide of this contest. But we will get to that later because the first thing is to acknowledge the significance of this 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 win.

The 22-year-old Draper is into his first Masters final and will play Holger Rune on Sunday for by far the biggest title of his career. In Alcaraz, he beat a man with two Wimbledon titles and four Grand Slams overall, a man who was seeking a third consecutive Indian Wells title. And he will wake up on Monday morning in the world’s top 10, at No8 or No7, depending on the result in the final.

Draper vowed this year to close the gap on Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and he is delivering. We are witnessing the genesis of Britain’s next tennis superstar.

We are witnessing also the continuance of a potentially great rivalry. This was a second win for Draper after Queen’s last year and he now trails the head to head 2-3. But the 23-year-old Brit and the 21-year-old Spaniard could meet again a dozen times or more and not play such a peculiar match.

First, that VAR controversy. The video review system in tennis is relatively new. There was a trial at the US Open, the Australian Open introduced it this year and on the regular men’s tour it has made its debut in Indian Wells.

If this event was expected to stress-test the system then Draper certainly put it through its paces. At 15-15, 1-1 in the deciding set Draper chased down a drop shot and then appeared to win the point but umpire Mohamed Lahyani had called ‘not up’, believing the ball had bounced twice.

Draper challenged that and the video replay showed he picked the ball up cleanly, so Lahyani ordered a replay of the point. Draper then challenged again, arguing that the not up call was late and so had not interfered with Alcaraz’s shot.

Again Lahyani donned the headphones and again the decision went Draper’s way. It looked very marginal and a less sporting individual than Alcaraz could have kicked up an almighty stink.

That was only the strangest incident in a most peculiar match. Alcaraz was startlingly bad in the opening set; Draper almost as poor in the second.

Alcaraz hit consecutive double faults in his first service game to be broken to love, Draper won 11 of the first 13 points and had a 3-0 lead inside 10 minutes.

Draper made just three unforced errors compared to 13 from his opponent.

As was always likely, Alcaraz caught fire in the second set, going from damp squib to towering inferno. How discombobulating it must have been for Draper as he was now required to up the ante dramatically.

The solid stuff of the first set was not cutting any mustard now. At 3-1 down his coach James Trottman chirped up from the stands, urging his man to mix it up.

‘Don’t be afraid to serve volley here if you want to,’ said Trottman, ‘try something different.’ He took his coach’s advice on the next point and was met by a blistering return as Alcaraz broke again.

It was a mild day in California but Draper was getting hot and bothered, swathed in an ice towel at changeovers. His body language was poor at the end of the second set, as if he were conserving energy for the third set.

After two of the most one-sided sets you could see at this level there came the decider – a tight first game of the second set aside there had not been an instant when both men played well at the same time.

All the wind was in the sails of the Spanish Armada but Draper plugged the leak in his hull with a hold for 1-1.

‘Anything short, in on him,’ said Trottman as he continued to urge Draper to take the initiative.

That took the score from 30-15 Alcaraz to 15-30 and Draper won the next two points to break. It was a huge shift in the scoreline and it perhaps affected Alcaraz’s concentration, too.

Alcaraz certainly played a shocking game to go a double break down and, though he survived Draper’s first attempt to serve for the match, at the second time of asking the boy from London did the business.

It was certainly an off-day for Alcaraz but Draper was superb. The key shot in the match was his crosscourt backhand. Has he ever hit it harder than in this match? Time and again it was rifled across the bows and that must be at least part of the reason why Alcaraz hit his forehand as poorly as he has for years.

It will not be easy for Draper to rouse himself again after such a seismic occasion but an extremely winnable final awaits. Rune was brilliant in victory over Daniil Medvedev in the first semi-final of the day but this is his first final since Brisbane in January of last year.

The rise of Jack Draper continues.