Red-hot Rublev reaches Indian Wells ATP semi-finals
Red-hot Rublev reaches Indian Wells ATP semi-finals
In-form seventh seed Andrey Rublev powered into the Indian Wells ATP Masters semi-finals on Friday with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov.
The 24-year-old ranked seventh in the world notched his 13th straight match win since Valentine's Day -- a hot streak that included back-to-back titles at Marseille and Dubai.
He has reached the last four without dropping a set, but the 30-year Dimitrov, ranked 35th in the world, made him work for it.
Trailing by a break in the first set Dimitrov broke Rublev to level the score at 5-5 only to drop the next two games.
With a set in hand, Rublev won five straight games to take a 5-1 lead in the second. Unable to capitalize on a match point against Dimitrov's serve, he fended off a break point to close it out on his own serve in the next game.
Rublev next faces either Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic or American Taylor Fritz.
Fritz is seeking to reach a second Indian Wells semi-final in six months after making it to the last four in October, when the tournament was moved from its usual March slot because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 24-year-old from Southern California is the first American man in back-to-back Indian Wells quarter-finals since Andy Roddick in 2009-10.
Kecmanovic, 22, is back on the rise after a disappointing end to his 2021 campaign, He beat sixth-ranked former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini to book his place in the last eight.
C.P.Ajello--IM
