Alcaraz sets up Medvedev Indian Wells semi-final, Sabalenka advances

World number one Carlos Alcaraz charged past Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4 on Thursday to set up an Indian Wells semi-final against Daniil Medvedev after the Russian ended defending champion Jack Draper's run 6-1 7-5.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka also reached the last four in the women's draw with a 7-6(0) 6-4 win over 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko but Iga Swiatek was unable to find her way past Elina Svitolina and fell 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Australian Open champion Alcaraz improved his record to 16-0 to start the season with a solid display against a tricky opponent in the final contest of the evening to remain on course for a third Indian Wells crown.

The Spaniard eased through the opening set and though he was briefly in trouble at 0-2 down in the next he quickly regained the momentum to see off Briton Norrie and set up a meeting with twice runner-up Medvedev.

"It was really difficult, I struggled with Cameron's style," Alcaraz said.

"I was trying to play my best but there was a little bit of confusion. His forehand has super top-spin and his backhands are very flat, so sometimes it's tricky to play against him and find the correct shots.

"But I played solid and aggressive when I could. I'm happy to be at this level."

Russian 11th seed Medvedev was also in impressive form against Briton Draper, who had little time to recover after his stunning three‑set win over Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.

Draper raised his level in the second set and stayed with his opponent to 5-5, but Medvedev secured a late break before serving out the match.

"The first set was unreal, I couldn't miss a ball. It was an unbelievable level," said Medvedev, who made the semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev beat Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2 6-3 to make the Indian Wells semi-finals for the first time and become only the fifth player to complete the set of last-four appearances at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

The German faces a big challenge in the next round, however, as he takes on world number two Jannik Sinner after the Italian made light work of American Learner Tien 6-1 6-2.

SVITOLINA UPSETS SWIATEK

World number two Swiatek struggled early against Svitolina, with the Ukrainian capitalising on five double faults to secure three breaks and take the opening set in 38 minutes.

She found her rhythm in the second to force a decider, but Svitolina regained the upper hand by securing the only break in a tight third set before confidently closing out the match.

"I'm extremely happy, it was a tough match," said Svitolina, who is back in the semis for the first time in seven years. "Iga always brings a bit extra out of me with that fighting spirit. I had to really push myself to close that match."

Belarusian Sabalenka had a battle on her hands against rising talent Mboko. The top seed was taken to a first-set tiebreak which she won to love - a career first.

The second set followed a similar script with Mboko clawing her way back to 5-4 and threatening another tiebreak but four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka closed it out to reach the semi-finals.

"She is definitely a future Grand Slam champion," Sabalenka said. "It's incredible to see how brave these young girls are these days."

Sabalenka next plays Linda Noskova, who ended Australian qualifier Talia Gibson's fairytale run 6-2 4-6 6-2, the Czech reaching her second WTA 1000 semi-final.

Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina advanced with a 6-1 7-6(4) victory over Jessica Pegula to reach another Indian Wells semi‑final where she will play Svitolina.

Victory ensured Rybakina will leapfrog Swiatek and reach a career-high world number two when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday.