mtenis.com.pl

Fifth seed beats Davidovich Fokina, faces Tiafoe next
There has been nothing to question about Daniil Medvedev's game in recent weeks, but uncertainty around the health of his right ankle surrounded his BNP Paribas Open quarter-final clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday. After rolling his ankle in a thrilling fourth-round victory against Alexander Zverev on Tuesday, Medvedev said he was having trouble walking but that he hoped to play in the quarters.

You May Also Like: Medvedev Survives Fall, Defeats Zverev In Indian Wells
In a 6-3, 7-5 victory against the 23rd seed — his 18th straight match win — Medvedev moved well in a fast start to alleviate any concerns. He added a new worry late in the second set when another fall required treatment on a bloody right thumb, but after escaping 0/40 at 3-4, the four-time ATP Masters 1000 champion did just enough in windy conditions to finish the job in straight sets.

"I'm actually happy the ankle didn't hurt much because when I warmed up, it was hurting pretty bad," Medvedev said post-match. "I knew I was going to play, I knew I was going to try. But I couldn't move well on the warm-up. I tried to warm it up as long as possible, took one painkiller so that probably helped. I was actually feeling better and better during the match.

"The match was absolutely crazy. I could talk about this for 15 minutes, but just really happy to go through such a tough match with such tough conditions with the wind."


It was business as usual in the first set once he opened up a 3-0 lead and nearly broke again for 4-0, with his patient and prodding baseline game frustrating Davidovich Fokina on the Indian Wells stadium court.

Set two was a much tighter affair as the Spaniard upped his aggression and earned his first break points, one in each of his first three return games. Medvedev found big serves each time to escape and threatened in a five-deuce game at 3-3, only for his fall to stop his momentum.

"I absolutely cut it open," he said of his bloody thumb. "It was like fully open. I never cut myself with a knife even like this because I don't cook much."

That moment had the making of a turning point, as Davidovich Fokina rattled off six straight points and played some of his best first-strike tennis to bring up 0/40 on return. But after a second visit from the physio to have his thumb taped, Medvedev regrouped in the nick of time to see out the win with more baseline brilliance.

The Official App Of Tennis | Download ATP WTA Live App

Medvedev is now 36-5 in sets during his winning run, which began with a comeback win against Davidovich Fokina in Rotterdam last month. He is seeking his fourth straight tour-level title after triumphs in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai.

The 27-year-old's extended run has lifted him from outside the Top 10 last month up to No. 5 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, though he cannot move any higher even with a title in Indian Wells. Medvedev, who was playing in his first Indian Wells quarter-final, has reached at least that stage at all six hard-court ATP Masters 1000s.

He can now enjoy two days off before he faces Frances Tiafoe in Saturday's semi-finals. Medvedev owns a 4-0 ATP Head2Head record against the American, who has not lost a set in reaching the last four, including a 6-4, 6-4 quarter-final win against Cameron Norrie earlier on Wednesday.

"He's playing great," Medvedev said of the home favourite. "Frances is a very pumped-up, fiery player, so he can beat anyone on a good day. I'm sure he can beat Novak, Rafa. He actually did beat Rafa in the US Open, which is huge. For sure I need to try my best to keep this head-to-head at zero. That's never easy and I just have to show my best tennis and try to beat such a great opponent."

Davidovich Fokina was playing in his third Masters 1000 quarter-final and his first outside of Monte-Carlo, where he reached the 2021 quarters and the 2022 final. His run has lifted him three places to No. 25 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting him up for a new career high on Monday.

Fifth seed overcomes ankle and thumb issues to reach semis
Daniil Medvedev entered his first BNP Paribas Open quarter-final with one health concern and exited Wednesday's match with another, to go along with his 18th straight victory.

After rolling his right ankle in a match-of-the-season contender against Alexander Zverev on Tuesday, Medvedev was not able to walk that evening. But he surprised himself by moving well a day later in a 6-3, 7-5 win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Then late in the second set, on a break point at 3-3, the fifth seed added to his worry list when another fall caused him to slice open his right thumb.

"I absolutely cut it open. It was like fully open," said Medvedev, who twice required treatment to stop the bleeding. "I never cut myself with a knife even like this because I don't cook much. Now it's getting black. I don't know if it's a good sign."

You May Also Like: Medvedev Steps Into First Indian Wells SF, Easing Ankle Concerns
In his post-match press conference, he later added: "The moment I cut it, I saw, I don't know if I should say it, kind of the meat. That was not nice to see. They cleaned it now. I have a small tape. Should be fine."

The untimely tumble could have been a turning point in the match, as Medvedev lost six straight points beginning with his missed break chance. He tried to play on without taping his thumb, but quickly realised that was not an option.

"I never play with the tape. It's tough to feel the racquet," he explained. "So I was like, 'I'm going to try to play without the tape.' Next game, I start, I feel like on the forehand I couldn't hold the racquet, so I said let's tape it. That's not easy and I don't like it to take medical [timeouts] like this, but I had to [do it] and hopefully I can recover."


While he played down any concerns in his presser, he acknowledged that he may have to deal with the taping again when he takes on Frances Tiafoe in Saturday's semi-finals.

"The question is going to be whether I tape it in two days for the match or not," he said. "But that's not a big problem, because I managed to play well with the tape today. A lot of players tape their fingers and manage to play well, so I'm going to be able to do it also."

With two rest days before he must take the court again, Medvedev projects the confidence of a man on an 18-match and three-trophy winning streak, despite his eventful path to the last four. But he was considerably less optimistic on Tuesday evening, when he could not even walk following his win against Zverev.

"I'm actually happy the ankle didn't hurt much [in the quarters] because when I warmed up, it was hurting pretty bad," he said. "I knew I was going to play, I knew I was going to try. But I couldn't move well on the warm-up. I tried to warm it up as long as possible, took one painkiller so that probably helped. I was actually feeling better and better during the match.

"The thing is that yesterday evening, I was not able to walk. When the body cools down, the adrenaline comes out, it's tough. I was walking in the pool just to try to walk anywhere because I couldn't walk on the ground any more."

With two feet firmly in the semi-finals, Medvedev will hope to stay upright through the weekend as he bids for his first Indian Wells title and fifth ATP Masters 100 crown.