Madison Keys powered into the Indian Wells semifinals on Thursday, dismantling wild-card Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-1 in simply 65 minutes to notch her 16th straight victory. The fifth-seeded American, who claimed the Australian Open title earlier this yr, now units up a extremely anticipated rematch with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The 2 final met at Melbourne Park in January, the place Keys defeated Sabalenka in a three-set battle, halting the Belarusian’s bid for a 3rd straight title.
Regardless of upsetting No. Four seed Coco Gauff within the earlier spherical, Bencic — a 28-year-old from Switzerland — had no solutions for Keys’ relentless play.
Elsewhere within the girls’s draw, defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her dominant run within the California desert, advancing to her fourth straight semifinal at Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-Three win over eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng. Swiatek, the No. 2 seed and a five-time Grand Slam winner, is aiming to turn into the primary girl to win the occasion 3 times. She’s using a 10-match win streak at Indian Wells, having additionally lifted the trophy in 2022.
Zheng, who had ended Swiatek’s 25-match successful streak on the Paris Olympics final yr, couldn’t replicate that magic. Although she broke Swiatek twice and received six video games — equaling the whole video games Swiatek had misplaced all match — the Polish star transformed all 5 of her break factors to seal the match.
Within the males’s draw, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz fought off decided challenger Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to achieve the semi-finals.
On one other chilly, blustery evening within the California desert, Alcaraz battled again from 1-Four down within the second set, developing with a break and two love service holds to pressure the tiebreaker as he saved his bid to hitch Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the one males to win three straight Indian Wells titles on observe.
Alcaraz needed to save break factors in every of his first three service video games. However after an emphatic maintain for 4-Three he gained the primary break of the competition with a deft volley and identical to that he was serving for the primary set.
After sliding to pop a drop volley winner over the online for set level Alcaraz drilled a deep forehand that Cerundolo might barely get a racquet on.
However it was Cerundolo who broke first within the second, lastly changing his ninth break level of the match then holding for 4-1.
However he could not maintain off the world quantity three, who raced to a 5-2 lead within the tiebreaker on the way in which to victory.
“It was actually troublesome for me to start out the match,” stated Alcaraz, who appeared much less snug within the windy climate than he did only a day earlier than.
“He bought numerous possibilities within the first set,” Alcaraz stated. “I am simply happy about saving all of them and taking the one one which I had.
“I did not hit the ball as clear as yesterday, however I simply did what I needed to and that is what it is about.”
Alcaraz subsequent faces Britain’s Jack Draper, who reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over American Ben Shelton.
Draper took the opening set with one break of serve then rallied from 0-Three down in a second-set slug-fest.
Shelton’s 32 unforced errors included 5 double-faults — together with one handy Draper a break for 6-5 within the second.
Russian Daniil Medvedev, runner-up to Alcaraz every of the previous two years, rallied from a break down in a wild, wind-blown last set to beat Arthur Fils 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7).
The world quantity six booked a semi-final assembly with Denmark’s Holger Rune, a 5-7, 6-0, 6-Three winner over Tallon Griekspoor.
Medvedev, a six-time Grand Slam finalist, trailed 20-year-old Fils 2-Four within the third set of a compelling conflict that was momentarily paused as gusting winds despatched towels and trash cans flying on Stadium Court docket.
France’s Fils had proven admirable maturity within the face of Medvedev’s formidable defensive abilities.
He lower 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 within the third to grab the lead.
However Medvedev would not be denied and after forcing the tiebreaker prevailed on his third match level when Fils pushed a backhand volley lengthy.
Medvedev, who had received simply certainly one of his previous 9 third-set tiebreakers, gave a leap of sheer pleasure after securing the win in 2 hours and 25 minutes to maintain alive his bid for a primary title since 2023 — when he received 5.
“I misplaced numerous tight matches this yr the place I might have received, ought to have received possibly,” Medvedev stated. “I’ve misplaced numerous tight matches the place it goes a bit of bit 50-50 and the extra it goes like that, the extra you’ll be able to lose confidence within the tight moments.
“I used to be comfortable I used to be in a position to recover from the road as he saved some match factors and had a break lead within the third. I’m simply comfortable to win.”
Medvedev faces one other younger gun in Rune, who burst onto the scene in 2022 with a win over Novak Djokovic within the Paris Masters last.
Rune has struggled usually since, however after dropping the primary set he dominated Griekspoor, the 43rd-ranked Dutchman who had ousted top-seeded Alexander Zverev within the second spherical.
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