Grigor Dimitrov has advanced to the second round of the 2026 Indian Wells Masters, where he will face top seed Carlos Alcaraz. Ahead of their matchup, Dimitrov shared his thoughts on going up against the World No. 1.
Dimitrov and Alcaraz have met six times on the ATP Tour, with the Spaniard winning four of those encounters. Their most recent meeting was in the fourth round of the 2025 Indian Wells Masters, where Alcaraz secured a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Grigor Dimitrov Makes His Feelings Known Ahead of Facing Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 Indian Wells Masters 2R
Dimitrov kicked off his campaign at the 2026 Indian Wells Masters by defeating Térence Atmane with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round. Ahead of his second-round match, during an interview with Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel, he recalled his victory over Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Miami Open and expressed that he wants to replicate that success this year in California.
“Yeah, I mean, hey, we’ve done it (defeat Carlos Alcaraz) before. I would love to have that switch again and find it so quickly. Hopefully, I’m able to do it. But again, [I am] at that point in my career also where I really am so focused on my side of the net even more than I’ve ever been. And I’m truly feeling that I’m running my own race right now, and of course, it’s going to be a tough match. Let’s see it for what it is,” Dimitrov said.
The former World No. 3 mentioned that he wants to make Alcaraz uncomfortable by introducing something “new and interesting” to his style of play during their second-round match at Tennis Paradise.
“I love watching him [Alcaraz] play. He’s crushing the ball. I love him, you know, in a positive way. But at the same time, these are the moments where it’s also for me where the fun part begins, how or what I can do differently or new or interesting that could potentially put him in a position where he doesn’t really like that,” he continued.
Dimitrov stated that if he plays well, executes his strategies correctly, and makes fewer mistakes, he believes “something good” could come from his match against Alcaraz.
“You never know how the game will unfold because it’s always out of your hands. And I believe, if I do the right things and cut down on a few mistakes here and there, it can do something good; some good can come out of it. So I’m going to come out with that mindset and just stay locked in,” Dimitrov added.
Leading up to the Indian Wells Masters, Alcaraz competed in the 2026 Qatar Open, where he defeated Arthur Fils in the final, claiming his 26th ATP Tour-level title. Alcaraz has also won the Indian Wells title twice, in 2023 and 2024, defeating Daniil Medvedev in both finals.
