INDIAN WELLS/WASHINGTON, March 14, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
With the BNP Paribas Open reaching the quarterfinal round at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Thursday, World No. 6 Daniil Medvedev met 20-year-old Arthur Fils on Stadium 1, as the Russian No. 1 aimed to continue his campaign to join Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as only players to complete a set of all of the current ATP Masters 1000 hard court titles.
As Medvedev looked to reach his third straight Indian Wells semifinal, after reaching back-to-back finals in 2023 and 2024, the No. 20-seed Fils was appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, aiming to be the third youngest Frenchman to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal.
After fighting tooth and nail – and through a final-set bloodied nose in the case of Fils – for nearly two-and-a-half hours, the fifth-seeded Medvedev dug deep and won, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7), in two hours and 25 minutes to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round. After trailing 2-4 in the final set to Fils, Medvedev went to work and overcame windy conditions that created havoc for both players. Although Medvedev had won only one of his last nine third-set tie-breaks, he held steady and played aggressively when it mattered most.
When Fils pushed a volley return long at 7-8 down that gave his opponent the quarterfinal victory on his third match-point opportunity, the former World No. 1 Medvedev found himself jumping for joy on his way to the net.
A reaction worth a thousand words@DaniilMedwed | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/hSAi14zSKE
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 13, 2025
By the end of the quarterfinal match, Medvedev had overcome 30 unforced errors by hitting 17 winners – five of them aces – and converted three of 11 break-point opportunities. Although Fils struck 25 winners, he also committed 52 unforced errors. Medvedev outpointed Fils 99-95.
Medvedev (12-5 this season) improved to 20-7 lifetime at Indian Wells as he pursues his first ATP Tour title since 2023 at Rome. He’s through to his 15th ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
“I’m not sure what I was thinking, but it was an amazing atmosphere. I lost a lot of tight matches this year where I could have won, should have won maybe,” Medvedev said during his on-court interview. “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.”
Look at what it means @DaniilMedwed survives Arthur Fils 6-4 2-6 7-6(7) to reach his third consecutive Indian Wells semi-final.
| @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/5afQz60B0z
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 13, 2025
Next, Medvedev will face World No. 13 and 12th seed Holger Rune of Denmark, who defeated No. 43 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3, in two hours and eight minutes on Stadium 2. It was Rune’s first win over Griekspoor in three career meetings.
The unseeded Griekspoor hoped to become the second Dutchman to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semifinal this century, following Robin Haase at Montreal in 2017 – and just the second Dutch player after Paul Haarhuis in 1996 to reach an Indian Wells semifinal.
Racing to the finish @holgerrune2003 books his spot in the Indian Wells semi-finals.@BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/BltqrPwK2S
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 13, 2025
However, two days after becoming the first Scandinavian to reach back-to-back-Indian Wells quarterfinals since Stefan Edberg of Sweden in 1994-95, Rune rallied from a set down to win 12 of the final 15 games of the quarterfinal to reach his sixth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. He found a solution to win and, now, Rune is the first Scandinavian to reach the Indian Wells semifinals since Robin Soderling in 2010.
Rune struck 33 winners – including 18 from his forehand side – and converted six of 15 break-point chances against Griekspoor, who countered with 18 winners but also made 47 unforced errors. Rune outpointed Griekspoor 97-72 to record his 10th win of the 2025 season.
In the zone ⚡️ @holgerrune2003 | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/msPUCJRQfX
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 13, 2025
“It was tough mentally to play against him,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I started well, although – obviously – because it rained this morning, neither of us got to warm up very well. I started finding the timing. … I found a way [to win]; I changed my tactical plan a little bit during the match and it made it more difficult for him. I’m very happy I could take advantage of matters.”
After failing to win consecutive matches in Rotterdam, Buenos Aires and Acapulco last month, Rune has strung together four straight victories in the California palm desert, against Corentin Moutet and Ugo Humbert of France, World No. 9 and eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Griekspoor. His mental attitude seems to be in the right place.
“Finding solutions. Finding ways to win. My discipline on and off the court has been very good,” Rune said. “Taking care of myself and taking care of my body. Doing everything I can to perform every match I play. I have a better understanding that, ‘okay, every day you don’t feel the same.’ So I have to dig deep sometimes to find a way to win.”
Around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden
• After reaching the quarterfinals at Indian Wells in the 2025 season’s first ATP Masters 1000, American No. 3 Ben Shelton said he felt a sense of confidence that has come from playing well. “It is a big goal for me to keep improving and keep going deeper in the big events,” Shelton said during his on-court interview after defeating fellow American Brandon Nakashima on Wednesday. “I had some success at Slams and Masters are a big goal for me this year because they are so many throughout the year and high stakes. I am pleased to be in another quarterfinal but I am searching for more.”
Thursday evening, the No. 11 seed Shelton battled British No. 1 and 13th-seeded Jack Draper for a berth in the semifinals against two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who battled past No. 25 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in an hour and 43 minutes, for his 16th straight win at Indian Wells in back of 23 winners to offset 27 unforced errors.
“Tennis is about not having a great day every day,” the No. 2-seed Alcaraz admitted during his post-match news conference. “So you have to play with your best that day.”
Sweet 1️⃣6️⃣@carlosalcaraz defeats Cerundolo 6-3 7-6 for the last SF spot & extends his Indian Wells winning streak to 16 matches!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/5bsIxbBFlm
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 14, 2025
Meanwhile, Draper held his own against Shelton and prevailed 6-4, 7-5 in an hour and 39 minutes to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. He finished with 20 winners, made just nine unforced errors, converted three of five break points and outpointed Shelton 78-65. Draper is just the fourth lefty to reach the Indian Wells semifinals this century.
During his on-court interview, Draper was asked to describe the significance of reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. He said: “It means so much to me, it’s why I’m playing. It’s why I’ve put all the hard work in with my team … to play these matches on these courts, especially a place like this.”
A first for Draper @jackdraper0 is in his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal after defeating Shelton 6-4 7-5.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/ME8X0KuhVh
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 14, 2025
• The men’s doubles semifinals are set for Friday and there are a few surprises among the final four teams remaining. First, American wild cards Christian Harrison and Evan King, who recently won their first tour-level title together at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco, have staged another strong run to reach the last four against No. 1 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia.
Harrison and King defeated Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert, 6-3, 6-2, in their opening match, then took out Australian veterans Matthew Ebden and John Peers, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 11-9. They defeated No. 7 seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the quarterfinals to advance.
Meanwhile, Arevalo and Pavic have advanced without dropping a set. They defeated Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round; Jack Draper of Great Britain and Tomas Machac of Czechia, 6-1, 7-5 in the second round; and Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, 7-6 (6), 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
The other semifinal will pair singles stars Sebastian Korda of the United States and Jordan Thompson of Australia against alternates Fernando Romboli of Brazil and John-Patrick Smith of Australia.
Thursday’s BNP Paribas Open results
Friday’s BNP Paribas Open order of play
By the numbers
With 16 consecutive wins and counting, Carlos Alcaraz has the third-longest winning streak among men in Indian Wells history. Ahead of him are: Novak Djokovic (19) and Roger Federer (18).
“Quotable …”
“I was building some amazing stuff at the end of last year. I was moving great, playing great and seeing the ball very well. I just had a bit of a break at the start of this year when I was injured. But with all of those problems, I have adjusted my schedule and that has helped me. I am happy with the way me and my team have worked and come through some tough times and the hard work is paying off.”
– British No. 1 Jack Draper, during his on-court interview after defeating American No. 1 Taylor Fritz, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells for the first time.
