Daniil Medvedev is through to his third consecutive Indian Wells semi-final. World no. 6 faced the young Frenchman Arthur Fils in the quarter-final and prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in two hours and 25 minutes.
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The Russian trailed 4-2 in the decider before erasing the deficit and converting the third match point in the tie break. Daniil showed his emotions after winning the final point, making a proper celebration of a hard-fought victory.
Medvedev claimed four points more than his rival. He lost serve four times and made a push behind the rival's second serve. Fils denied eight of 11 break points, giving everything but ending on the losing side in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Daniil landed 17 winners and 30 unforced errors. Arthur added 25 direct points to his tally but sprayed 52 mistakes. The Frenchman led 28-24 in service winners and forged a massive 23-4 advantage at the net. Medvedevbuilt a 62-41 lead from the baseline, which kept him in contention.
Nothing separated them in the shortest, mid-range and most extended exchanges, and it all came to those deciding points in the tie break. The 5th seed served well in the opening set and kept the pressure on the other side.
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Fils struggled in the opening part of the set. The Frenchman saved a break point in the opening game of the match before missing a smash in windy conditions in game three, suffering a break at love and falling 2-1 behind.
Daniil held in the fourth game with a forced error cement the advantage and extend the gap. Arthur saved another break point in the fifth game, and they both served well in the remaining ones. Medvedev drew Fils' mistake in game ten, taking the opener 6-4 in 41 minutes.
The Frenchman took charge in the second set and left a top-10 rival behind. The young gun held after deuces in the first game of the set and made a push on the return in the next one. He welcomed Medvedev's backhand error to secure a break and move 2-0 in front.
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Fils provided fine holds in games three, five and seven, forging a 5-2 advantage and keeping the pressure on the other side. Daniil sprayed a backhand error in the eighth game and sprayed three set points. Arthur seized the second, taking the set 6-2 and introducing a decider after an hour and 16 minutes.
They traded four breaks in five games from 1-1 in the final set. Trailing 4-2, Medvedev painted a backhand crosscourt return winner to pull the break back and return to the positive side. They served well in the remaining games to introduce a tie break.
Fils missed a routine forehand at 1-0 and experienced a mini-break at 2-2 after a loose slice. The young gun attacked in the sixth point and drew the rival's mistake for 3-3 and more drama. The Frenchman claimed two points on serve and moved 5-4 in front.
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Arthur netted a routine backhand in the 11th point and faced a match point. He denied it with a fine forehand attack before sending a forehand long in the next one, sending Medvedev 7-6 up. The Russian missed a backhand and squandered the second match point.
Medvedev earned the third match point and converted it after the rival's volley mistake, sealing the deal and starting a massive celebration.
