Madison Keys is on a roll, extending her impressive winning streak to 16 matches as she cruised into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open by dismantling wild-card entry Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday. The match took place in Indian Wells, California, and Keys displayed her dominant form that has been evident since her Australian Open triumph. Now the No. 5 seed at this event, it took her just 65 minutes to line up a face-off with top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, who beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3 later the same day, will certainly be looking for redemption. Keys had the edge over Sabalenka in their previous encounter at Melbourne Park, where she thwarted the Belarusian’s attempt for a third consecutive title.
Bencic, who had made headlines by upsetting No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round, couldn’t replicate that magic against the formidable Keys. The 28-year-old Swiss player was simply outmatched.
“I’m thrilled,” exclaimed Sabalenka when asked about the upcoming match against Keys. “I really hope this time I can turn the tables from what happened in Australia.”
On the men’s circuit, the day ended with a thrilling performance from Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion. Despite a challenging second set where he trailed 4-1 against Francisco Cerundolo, Alcaraz rallied to secure a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory. Daniil Medvedev also advanced, making it to the Indian Wells semifinals for the third year in a row after an intense 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7) match against 20-year-old French sensation Arthur Fils.
Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek continues her quest for a historic third women’s title at Indian Wells. The No. 2 seed from Poland outplayed eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng from China 6-3, 6-3. The two had faced each other last summer at the Paris Olympics, with Zheng clinching victory back then, putting an end to Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak. This time, Swiatek showed her class, converting all five break points while Zheng managed to take six games off her, equaling the total Swiatek had surrendered throughout the tournament so far.
Reflecting on her match with Zheng, Swiatek commented, “The wind picked up towards the end, which made things tricky. Adjusting on the fly isn’t easy, but I’m glad I managed to stay composed and focused.”
Up next for Swiatek is a face-off with 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who recently defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3. Andreeva, boasting a 10-match win streak, had previously beat Swiatek on her way to winning the Dubai title last month and is now the youngest woman to make it to the Indian Wells semifinals since Maria Sharapova in 2005.
Continuing his impressive form, Alcaraz will meet Jack Draper in the next round after the Briton’s victory over American Ben Shelton, who made history by being the youngest American man to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals since 2004.
Medvedev’s path to the final was not easy. Required to fight for two hours and 25 minutes to secure his spot, he endured a brief interruption due to debris-laden gusty winds in the third set. His next challenge is Holger Rune, who reached his first Indian Wells semifinal by defeating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 5-7, 6-0, 6-3.
Sources include contributions from the Associated Press and Reuters.
