By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
INDIAN WELLS—Carlos Alcaraz is not only world No. 1, he’s an artist using the court as a canvas.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion is highly skilled at dabbing drop shots that drip over the net like a yellow splotch of paint.
Former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev successfully defended several drop shot from 21-year-old Alex Michelsen in his 6-2, 6-4 BNP Paribas Open triumph today.
So we asked the 11th seeded Medvedev how does he read and react to drop shots and which man owns the most deceptive dropper in the sport?
Two-time Indian Wells finalist Medvedev named two men as the premier drop-shot artists in the sport: Carlos Alcaraz and Corentin Moutet.
“Alcaraz, for sure, has crazy dropshots. And Moutet,” Medvedev said. “You know what? Moutet has a
different game. So for Alcaraz, what makes it easier is he can hit crazy with very strong winner, so the next one you’re a tiny bit on the back leg, and then he makes the dropshot, so he counters you.
“Moutet has a bit different game, but has a crazy dropshot as well, so I would put these two [as the best].”
In fact, Medvedev, who carries a seven-match winning streak into the Indian Wells quarterfinals against either defending champion Jack Draper or Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic, credits Alcaraz’s drop shot barrage for helping the Russian win the 2023 Miami Open championship.
“Look, I try my best, because again, I remember very well Carlos played me here in Indian Wells in the [2023] final, made a lot of dropshots, a lot of winners,” Medvedev said. “But I said to myself, okay, well, he has an amazing dropshot, so he can do it.
“In the next week I win, so probably people watched the final, so all of them started drop-shotting, and I won the [Miami Open] title. I was, like, okay, continue. So I just try my best. Whenever I have a dropshot to play, I try to win the point.”