Will Lindeknech continue to be Alcaraz's lucky star?

At 9 AM tomorrow, in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters, the top seed and Spanish all-round warrior Alcaraz faces a challenge from the 26th seed, French veteran Lindeknech.

Born in 2003, Alcaraz and born in 1995, Lindeknech have faced each five times in their careers so far, with Alcaraz winning all five matches, including the most recent three where he did not lose a single set and completely shut out his opponent. Particularly noteworthy is that from the 2021 US Open to the 2026 ATP500 Doha tournament, Alcaraz faced Lindeknech five times, and after each victory, he achieved excellent results. In their first encounter at the 2021 US Open, Alcaraz ultimately reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, becoming one of the earliest post-2000 players to do so alongside Canada's cool young black player Aliassime. In the subsequent four encounters, Alcaraz ended up winning the championship each time. Therefore, Lindeknech truly is Alcaraz's lucky star.

At 9 AM tomorrow, in their sixth career encounter, will the French veteran Lindeknech continue to willingly serve as the lucky star for the Spanish all-round warrior Alcaraz?

Standing at 1.96 meters tall, Lindeknech possesses a powerful serve, a fierce forehand attack, and enjoys coming to the net for volley winners. After years of grinding and battling on the ATP tour, Lindeknech finally had a breakthrough season in 2025. In the first round of the 2025 Wimbledon, after a five-set battle lasting two days, Lindeknech defeated the third seed, German powerhouse Zverev Jr. At the 2025 US Open, Lindeknech reached his first Grand Slam fourth round. At the 2025 Shanghai Masters, Lindeknech won four consecutive matches from the third round against players ranked in the top 20 (German powerhouse Zverev Jr., Czech warrior Lehečka, Canada's cool young black player Aliassime, Russian Tsar Medvedev), reaching his first Masters final. Unfortunately, he ultimately lost to his cousin, Monaco qualifier dark horse Vaserot, finishing as runner-up.

In his career, Lindeknech has faced Alcaraz five times, losing all five matches, but the matches were not completely one-sided; they were competitive contests. In their first career encounter in the second round of the 2021 US Open, Lindeknech narrowly lost the first set in a tiebreak but then won the second set 6-4. In their second career encounter in the first round of the 2023 ATP500 London Queen's Club, Lindeknech won the first set 6-4 before losing the next two sets by close scores of 5-7 and 6-7, regrettably losing the match.

In their most recent three encounters, although Lindeknech lost all three to Alcaraz without winning a set, each match had a set that went to 7-5 or 7-6, indicating intense and exciting contests, not collapses.

At 9 AM tomorrow, in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters, their sixth career encounter, it is believed that Lindeknech will not willingly remain Alcaraz's lucky star. He will surely exert all his efforts, fully unleashing his serve power, forehand firepower, and net play to engage in a fierce battle with Alcaraz.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)