Jack Draper has booked his place in an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final for the first time after defeating American Ben Shelton in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open.
The British No. 1 moved ahead of the two upcoming tennis stars with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Shelton, who was also attempting to reach the last four of a Masters event for the first time. Draper will now face Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, after the No. 2 seed defeated Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (4) in their Indian Wells quarterfinal on Thursday. Draper overcame the one break in the first set to take an early lead over the powerful Shelton, but after falling behind 0-3, he was forced to fight back in the second. The 22-year-old American was unusually careless on his serve when he was serving at 5-5 in the second set, committing two late double faults, one of which occurred on Draper’s break point. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect today,” Draper stated. I might have hit Ben once or twice, but those were very brief practices. I must have watched a lot of him because he is such an amazing showman with weapons and can hit a winner from anywhere. The service is huge. He has been extremely consistent and is a formidable competitor. I was aware that confronting him in front of the Americans on this court would be extremely challenging today, and it was. He deserves a great deal of credit and respect. He will keep winning and have an amazing career. Draper has now eliminated three Americans in a row with his victories in the third round against former champion Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby at Indian Wells. The 23-year-old will become the youngest player in the world’s top 10 for the first time if he makes it to the US Open final in 2024. Draper said, “It means so much to me.” “It is the reason I am playing and the reason I and my team have put in so much effort to play these matches on these courts, especially in this location. It’s what I’ve wanted since I was a kid and to be here now is a bit surreal.”
Iga Świątek set up a rematch with Mirra Andreeva in the women’s singles with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Zheng Qinwen. The defending champion’s victory would have been even more decisive had Zheng not pulled two games back from 5-1 in each set as Świątek had the better of the blustery conditions.
Witek stated, “Absolutely, I feel a lot of confidence.” Another match that I played how I wanted was this one. I’m happy with how I did and that I eventually got used to the wind. Witek hasn’t won a title since the French Open in June, and if she wants to change that this week, she needs to get past Andreeva, who is in good form and is 17 years old. After defeating Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3, the Russian, who won her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai last month by defeating Witek, is just two victories away from a second title. The fifth seed in the men’s event, Daniil Medvedev, defeated the young Frenchman Arthur Fils in a close match by scores of 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. The final stages saw the match briefly delayed by strong winds and then a Fils nosebleed before Medvedev, who has had a difficult start to the season, clinched his third match point when his opponent missed a volley from on top of the net.
Britain’s Olivia Nicholls reached the biggest final of her career in doubles thanks to a 7-5, 6-3 win over fifth seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Zhang Shuai with Slovakian partner Tereza Mihalíková.
