Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Arthur Fils 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters. Medvedev, a six-time Grand Slam finalist who was runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz here each of the past two years, trailed the 20-year-old Frenchman 2-4 in the third set of a compelling clash that was momentarily paused by the gusting winds on Stadium Court.
Fils had shown admirable maturity in the face of Medvedev’s formidable defensive skills. He cut down on the unforced errors that marred his first set to win the second with ease and maintained his poise as he erased an early break in the third to seize the lead. But Medvedev wouldn’t be denied, and after forcing the tiebreaker, he prevailed on his third match point when Fils pushed a backhand volley long.
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Medvedev, who had won just one of his past nine third-set tiebreakers, gave a jubilant leap of triumph after securing the win in 2 hours and 25 minutes to keep alive his bid for a first title since 2023 — when he won five. “I lost a lot of tight matches this year where I could have won, should have won maybe,” Medvedev said. “I have lost a lot of tight matches where it goes a little bit 50-50 and the more it goes like that, the more you can lose confidence in the tight moments. I was happy I was able to get over the line as he saved some match points and had a break lead in the third. I am just happy to win.”
Medvedev next faces Denmark’s Holger Rune, who reached his first semi-final of 2025 with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Tallon Griekspoor — the 43rd-ranked Dutchman who ousted top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the second round. Rune, 21, charged after dropping the first set, winning 10 of 11 games to seize the second set and take a 4-1 lead in the third. He didn’t face a break point in the second and third sets as he continued a resurgent run in the California desert after failing to put together back-to-back wins in February.
Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, trying to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three straight Indian Wells titles, takes on Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the semi-finals later Thursday. The world number three from Spain hasn’t reached a Masters 1000 semi-final since Indian Wells last year, but he’s on a 15-match winning streak in the California desert. Alcaraz won his only previous meeting with Cerundolo, who is vying to become the first semi-finalist from Argentina since Juan Martin del Potro won the title in 2018.
The winner of that match will take on either American Ben Shelton or Britain’s Jack Draper. Draper, 23, delivered a masterclass in ousting world number four Taylor Fritz of the United States, the 2022 Indian Wells champion, in the fourth round and now has a chance to eliminate the last American man remaining. If 22-year-old Shelton can prevail to reach a first Masters 1000 semi, he’ll become the youngest American semi-finalist since Jan-Michael Gambill in 1998.
© 2024 AFP
