American Frances Tiafoe reached the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of her career on Wednesday, beating former champion Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to make the final four in Indian Wells.
Tiafoe, ranked 16th in the world, didn’t drop a set in the combined WTA and Masters 1000 event in the California desert.
Unfazed by a rain-disturbed start, Tiafoe played in style, attacking the tennis to claim his biggest win of the season in an hour and 25 minutes.
“It’s great, but it’s the semi-finals,” Tiafoe said. “The work is not done.”
Tiafoe will face sixth-ranked Daniil Medvedev or number 28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a spot in the final.
Sixth-ranked Medvedev, coming off three consecutive ATP titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, beat Alexander Zverev in the fourth round on Tuesday despite a bad right ankle roll in the second set.
Tiafoe had broken Norrie twice in the second set to serve for the match at 5-2.
He himself was broken, but made no mistake, however, at his next opportunity. His biggest serve of the match saw him lead 40-0 as he finished in style.
“I’m really happy,” Tiafoe said. “I feel like when I’m there mentally, I’m one of the best players in the world.
“Today is not just about reaching the semi-finals, I’m happy to beat a guy like that, who played so well. To be able to come here and beat him in straight sets is relatively comfortable.
“At the end it got a bit tricky, but it was pretty one-sided and I’m really happy with the state of my game.”
Britain’s Norrie, who won his biggest title at Indian Wells in 2021, saw his eight-game winning streak come to an end. The run had included his victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final in Rio de Janeiro last month.
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