American Frances Tiafoe reached the first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of her career on Wednesday, beating former champion Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to make the last four in Indian Wells.
Tiafoe, ranked 16th in the world, did not drop a set at the joint WTA and Masters 1000 event in the California desert.
Unfazed by a rain-interrupted start, Tiafoe played stylish attacking tennis to register her biggest win of the season in one hour and 25 minutes.
“It’s great, but it’s the semi-finals,” Tiafoe said. “The work is not done.”
Tiafoe will face either No. 6 Daniil Medvedev or No. 28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the final.
Sixth-seeded Medvedev, who won three consecutive ATP titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, beat Alexander Zverev in the fourth round on Tuesday despite badly rolling his right ankle in the second set.
Tiafoe broke Nouri’s serve twice in the second set to level the match at 5-2.
He himself was broken, but on the next occasion he made no mistake. His biggest serve of the match put him up 40-0 and he finished it off in style.
“I’m really happy,” Tiafoe said. “I think when I’m there mentally, I’m one of the best players in the world.
“Today it’s not just about getting to the semi-finals, I’m happy to beat someone who’s been playing so well. To be able to come here and beat him in straight sets is relatively comfortable.
“In the end, it got a bit tricky, but it was one-way traffic and I’m really happy with where my game is.”
Britain’s Norrie, who won his biggest title in 2021 at Indian Wells, saw his eight-match winning streak come to an end. The run included his victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Rio de Janeiro final last month.
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