Carlos Alcaraz made it 14 successive victories at Indian Wells as the two-time defending champion reached the last 16 with a straight-sets win over Denis Shapovalov.

Alcaraz began his quest for a third straight Indian Wells title with a 68-minute victory over Quentin Halys in the first round on Saturday, setting Monday's meeting with the resurgent Shapovalov. 

Shapovalov, who has a tour-best three wins over top-10 players this season, never looked like recording a fourth as he succumbed to a 6-2 6-4 defeat.

Alcaraz broke in the very first game with a big forehand up the line and that was a sign of things to come, as he raced to a 5-0 lead before serving out the opener.

Shapovalov fared better in the second set but Alcaraz refused to go away, showing great improvisation to edge one excellent rally at the net early on.

A seventh-game break was enough for Alcaraz, who converted his first match point to tee up a meeting with 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Gael Monfils in three sets on Monday.

"Nerves are a good thing, but today I didn't feel as many nerves as I did in the first round. Today I was more relaxed, I was calm, so I could think much better," Alcaraz said.

"I think every player has nerves at the beginning of the match. It's the way you control it, so I think today and in the first round, I did it pretty well. Hopefully it will continue like this."

 

 

 

 

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Data Debrief: Alcaraz in esteemed company

As well as winning 14 straight matches at Indian Wells, Alcaraz has won 18 of his first 20 encounters at the event overall.

Since the tournament's inauguration in 1976, only Jimmer Connors (19) has posted more victories over his first 20 matches.