Draper stuns Alcaraz in dramatic Indian Wells semi-final

Jack Draper is the fifth British player to reach the final of an ATP Masters 1000 event

Britain's Jack Draper was helped by a video assistant referee-style review to earn a coming-of-age win over Carlos Alcaraz and reach the biggest final of his career.

Draper, 23, stunned four-time major champion Alcaraz with a 6-1 0-6 6-4 victory in a dramatic Indian Wells semi-final.

The British number one, who served out the match at the second attempt, will move into the world's top 10 for the first time in his career as a result.

"I'm proud of myself but I'm already thinking about the final," Draper told BBC Sport.

"I want to end this week in a great way. We can think about the other stuff afterwards."

The pivotal moment of a bizarre match came when England's Draper was rescued by video technology in the third game of the deciding set - and went on to break Spanish world number three Alcaraz's serve.

With the set at 1-1, and the game 15-15, the ball was judged by umpire Mohamed Lahyani to have bounced twice before Draper reached a drop shot.

It was clearly a wrong call from the official, but players now have the benefit of using video technology in Indian Wells to question decisions over double bounces.

After Draper instantly asked for a replay, his challenge was successful and allowed Lahyani to overturn the original decision.

He was given the point for a 15-30 lead and, with momentum back in his favour, secured a break which ultimately proved the difference.

A thankful Draper said the video reviews - which are not available at every ATP event - are "really good for tennis", although Alcaraz insisted he was not "affected" by the incident.

However, his level dipped after that point as his bid to win Indian Wells for the third year running was ended.

Left-hander Draper goes on to face Denmark's Holger Rune in Sunday's final at the Masters 1,000 event in California.

Rune, ranked 13th, reached the fourth Masters final of his career with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev.

Patience pays off for Draper after fitness issues

When Draper last met Alcaraz at the Australian Open eight weeks ago, the match ended with the injured Briton having to quit.

Draper had been managing a hip problem which flared up in pre-season and coming through a series of gruelling Melbourne five-setters eventually took its toll in the last 16.

It led to more questions about Draper's durability, but he has answered them emphatically.

Managing his workload by playing only Doha and Indian Wells since - reaching the final of both tournaments - has paid off.

Entering this contest, it felt like Draper would be a different proposition for Alcaraz.

Draper had not dropped a set in a tough run to the last four, having beaten prodigiously talented teenager Joao Fonseca, former top 20-player Jenson Brooksby, world number four Taylor Fritz and Australian Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton.

The key had been consistent serving, incisive returning and sharper movement - all underpinned by having greater confidence in his body.

Draper ended Alcaraz's 16-match winning streak at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

Winning eight of the opening nine points helped Draper move 3-0 ahead, securing a double break at 5-1 with the help of wild forehand errors from the Spaniard.

Bemusement among the pro-Alcaraz crowd was evident. Draper remained focused despite the discord and confidently served out the opening set with just 23 minutes gone.

Alcaraz, audibly agitated, had won just 10 points. Afterwards the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion said it was "probably one of the worst" sets of his career.

Surely he could not continue to play that badly? After saving a break point in the opening game of the second set, Alcaraz's level improved considerably.

Dominating from the baseline with more fluid groundstrokes, and finding outrageous angles at the net, Alcaraz drained Draper to quickly take the match into a decider.

Draper had lost energy and Alcaraz now appeared to be the favourite.

But, in another sign of his growing self-assurance, Draper reset after giving himself a pep-talk in the bathroom - and it was Alcaraz who wilted.

"I looked at myself in the mirror and was like 'you need to really get your stuff together'," said Draper.

"I had to knuckle down and that was it."

Britain's Nicholls edged out in biggest career final

Olivia Nicholls is the British number one in women's doubles

Meanwhile, Britain's Olivia Nicholls missed out on a first WTA 1,000 title after losing in the women's doubles final.

Nicholls, 30, and her Slovakian partner Tereza Mihalikova were beaten 6-2 7-6 (7-4) by Dutch player Demi Schuurs and Asia Muhammad of the United States.

Nevertheless, it has been another productive week for the pair, who have formed a strong partnership since linking up last May.

Nicholls has already becoming Britain's leading women's doubles player and, after competing in her first final at WTA 1,000 level, will climb to a career-high 31st place in the world rankings.