The day after a bad fall where he twisted his ankle against Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev did the job and rather well. The Russian dominated in two sets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (6-3, 7-5) in conditions complicated by an incessant wind and qualified for the semi-finals of the Indian Wells tournament. He doesn’t like the tournament surface and even scraped his right thumb on a slip on Wednesday, but he’s still winning.
“I couldn’t walk last night, I was walking in the poolexplained the world No. 6 about his ankle leaving the court. When I trained it was pretty bad, I wasn’t moving well. I tried to warm up as long as possible and I felt better and better as the game went on. » Still as solid in his game, Medvedev quickly took the lead in this duel by breaking very early in the first act.
Realistic Medvedev
The second was more disputed with a Spaniard who was more and more catchy but too faulty on the sequences which could have tipped this round in his favor. The Russian, he was able to be clinical, saving the six break points obtained by the 28th in the world and jumping at the opportunity which presented itself at 5-5. Davidovich Fokina chained three faults and Medvedev sprang with a magnificent passing to take his white service.
The former world No. 1 is now 18 wins in a row and is still aiming for four consecutive titles after those obtained in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai. For that, he will have to dominate Frances Tiafoe who awaits him in the semi-finals. The American, very comfortable in the current conditions, delivered a complete game to get rid of Cameron Norrie. The Russian has won all four of their contested duels so far.