Indian Wells: Tsitsipas and Zverev suffer shock exits
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev suffered shock exits in the quarters of the Indian Wells Masters. World number three Tsitsipas was beaten by Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. Meanwhile, German Olympic champion Zverev failed to convert two match points in a stunning three-set defeat by Taylor Fritz. In women's singles, Paula Badosa will face Victoria Azarenka in the final. Here's more.
Fritz upsets Zverev to reach semis
American Fritz saved two match points against Zverev, earning his second Top 5 win of his career. He has now reached his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. Fritz beat world number four Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 after two hours and 22 minutes. The 31st seed fired 36 winners against Zverev. He will now take on Basilashvili for a berth in the final.
Missed opportunity for Zverev
German sensation Zverev was aiming to win his third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season in Indian Wells. He had triumphed in Madrid and Cincinnati. Zverev entered the quarter-final match in strong form after winning 20 of his past 21 matches on hard courts.
Basilashvili downs Tsitsipas to reach semis
Basilashvili dished out a commendable performance to oust Tsitsipas in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 6-4). This is the first time Basilashvili has reached the semis of a Masters 1000 tournament. Basilashvili caused Tsitsipas all sorts of problems from the baseline with his powerful groundstrokes. He advanced after two hours and nine minutes. He now has a 1-2 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas.
Badosa sails past Jabeur to make maiden WTA 1000 final
Spaniard Paula Badosa sealed a spot in the BNP Paribas Open final, defeating Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-3. Badosa secured her 40th win of the season. The World No.27 will take on two-time champion and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka for the first prestigious title. Badosa had earlier beaten Barbora Krejcikova and Angelique Kerber before taming Jabeur.
Brilliant Badosa scripts these feats
As per WTA, Badosa is the first Spanish woman to make the Indian Wells final since Conchita Martinez, who finished runner-up in 1996 and 1992. Notably, Badosa has reached the final in her main draw debut. Badosa has lost just one set en route to her second final of the season. She is projected to make her Top 20 debut in the WTA Rankings.
Azarenka downs Ostapenko to reach final
Meanwhile, two-time champion Azarenka produced a valiant comeback display. The the former World No.1 defeated Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. No.27 seed Azarenka had earlier won the title in Indian Wells in 2012 and 2016. She secured a hard-fought 2-hour and 20-minute win over No.24 seed Ostapenko. She will now aim to thwart Badosa and claim a third Indian Wells title.
