Indian Wells, Rublev in the semifinals. Challenge Kecmanovic or Fritz

After Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, the third semifinalist and first in the lower part of the Indian Wells draw, the first Masters 1000 of the season, is the Russian Andrey Rublev who overtook the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 6-2 in exactly 90 minutes .

The match

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It’s a baseline battle, despite Dimitrov’s greater flair. The Bulgarian is definitely a more complete player than his rival, but he has less mental strength and often pays in crucial moments of the match. Already in the third game the Bulgarian is forced to save two break points, one instead saves Rublev in the fourth game, getting the point of 2 all with the first ace of the match. In the fifth game Dimitrov commits two double fouls and gives the break to Rublev who flies ahead 4-2, then arriving without problems to serve for the 5-4 set ahead. Here Dimitrov is exalted, snatches the bar to zero and returns to the game. But it is a flash in the pan: the Bulgarian loses his service again and Rublev gets three set points: on the first he commits a double fault, then there is the winner of Dimitrov who recovers up to 40 all. But the two points that could lead to the tie-break go instead to Rublev who harpoons the first set. In the second Dimitrov loses grip with the match. Two consecutive breaks suffered, the second of which thanks to two double faults, condemn the Bulgarian to surrender. Only when he is 5-1 down, Dimitrov keeps the bat by canceling a match point, but at 5-2 the Bulgarian misses the ball to recover one of the two breaks, then bowing to the second match point. For Rublev, the one on Saturday against the winner of the match between Kecmanovic and Fritz, will be the fourth Masters 1000 semifinal of his career after the three played in 2021: the first was lost in Miami against Hurkacz who then overtook our Sinner in the final, the two others he won in Monte Carlo on Ruud and in Cincinnati on Medvedev.