Grigor Dimitrov is through to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open, rallying from a set behind to defeat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) on Thursday in Indian Wells.
The Bulgarian backed up his win over No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16 by clinching victory after dropping the first set, as he lifted his level once again to defeat No. 8 seed Hurkacz, claiming his 100th ATP Masters 1000 victory.
“I stayed in it. Especially after that first set it was very hard for me to find my range today. I was a little bit tired from yesterday and didn’t feel I really had enough time to rest and push, but I still felt and I knew I had something in me. I knew that I had to step up and be a little bit more aggressive," Dimitrov said in his post match on court interview.
“I started reading his serve a little bit more and I had a few more looks. I kept trying and believing and I think that made the difference," Dimitrov said.
Next up, Dimitrov will take on 21st seed Cam Norrie, who demolished 11th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-2 in 74 minutes to advance to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
In his third Indian Wells main draw, Norrie had never previously past the first round. But this year he finds himself in the semifinals, and will become the new British No. 1 on Monday.
“Everything went my way today,” Norrie said in his post match on-court interview.
“Right from the beginning I was timing the ball well. I thought I was in for a long match because the previous times we have played have been so long and so physical so I was ready for that. I hit a lot of lines in the first set and stayed tough in the second and served well when I needed to. I am so happy to be through, it is such a big win for me," Norrie said.
On the women's side, Ons Jabeur stole the headlines on Thursday as she booked her place in the semifinals, and in doing so, her place in the top 10 for the first time.
The No. 12 seed defeated 18th seed Anett Kontaveit 7-5, 6-3, to book her place in the semifinals, assuring herself a spot in the world’s top 10 in Monday’s singles rankings. She will become the first Arab to reach the Top 10 of either the WTA or ATP singles rankings in history.
"Honestly a great match, great fight," Jabeur said in her post-match press conference.
"Always tough to play against Anett. I tried to play my game little bit, but she knows me so well. It was kind of tough to kind of execute those dropshots."
"I'm pretty glad that I stayed calm when I needed to be. It was very stressful at the end. But I'm glad that I got the win and looking forward to play. Why not get the title here?" Jabeur said.
Her opponent in the semifinals will be 21st seed Paula Badosa, who continued her remarkable season with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 10 seed Angelique Kerber.
It's a second WTA 1000 semifinal for the season for Badosa, who reached the same stage at the Madrid Open earlier this year.
"She's really tricky. Of course I've seen her a lot, but on court she's really tricky, she opens the court a lot. Sometimes she plays short balls but then very long ones. She plays very tactically," Badosa said post match.
"At the beginning it was strange for me. She runs a lot. She sees all the balls where you're going to hit. It's quite tough for me at the beginning and at the end as well. It was a really, really tough one," Badosa said.
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