The last American hope in the Indian Wells Masters men's singles tournament, home favourite Tommy Paul squares up to Daniil Medvedev in Saturday's semi-final showdown.
The 17th seed bested Casper Ruud in three sets to reach just his second ATP 1000 semi, while his Russian foe dispatched Holger Rune in straight sets.
Match preview
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Fresh from ending the magical run of Novak Djokovic's conqueror Luca Nardi, Paul - who had also sent Alex Michelsen and Ugo Humbert packing in the earlier rounds - overcame a disastrous second set against Ruud to pile more misery on the Scandinavian in Thursday's quarter-final.
At the conclusion of an engrossing encounter, Paul triumphed 6-2 1-6 6-3 in just over two hours to reach the last four of a Masters tournament for just the second time after last year's Canadian Open, which ended in defeat to Jannik Sinner at this stage.
While only 55% of the American's first serves found the mark, his defensive game worked to great effect as he saved seven of the 11 break points that Ruud managed to create, two of which came as he was serving for the match before his Norwegian foe struck long for one final time.
Already a two-time finalist on the ATP Tour this year - winning February's Dallas Open before losing to Taylor Fritz in the Delray Beach trophy match - Paul, who also made the last four of last year's Australian Open, is now potentially only a matter of hours away from a maiden Masters final.
Entering the California tournament ranked 17th on the planet, the 26-year-old has already shot up three places in the standings on account of his best Indian Wells run to date, but he will be under no illusions that he enters Saturday's final-four battle as the underdog.
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Seeking to go one better at this year's Indian Wells after falling to Carlos Alcaraz's supremacy in the 2023 final, fourth seed Medvedev - who had never advanced beyond the fourth round before 2023 - was at his scintillating best when faced with a Rune-sized test on Thursday.
The ever-defensive Russian only conceded two breaks from eight such opportunities for Rune, who helped out his foe with six double faults as Medvedev posted a 7-5 6-4 win with just under two hours on the board, thereby making a Masters semi-final for the 13th time.
Like many before him, Rune's risky tactic of coming to the net against the accurate Medvedev did not pay dividends, as the Russian consistently found the mark in the unrelenting California wind and is now aiming to complete the hard-court set in Masters tournaments.
Already boasting honours from the Paris Masters, Shanghai Masters, Cincinnati Open, Canadian Open and Miami Open, Indian Wells is the sole hard-court 1000 tournament that Medvedev is yet to triumph in, but he advanced from all three of his Masters semi-finals in 2023.
Also bidding to reach his first top-level final since the Australian Open, victory for the 28-year-old could see him earn a shot at revenge versus his Grand Slam conqueror Sinner, or alternatively try to deny current holder Alcaraz back-to-back California crowns.
Tournament so far
Tommy Paul:
Second round: vs. Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-2
Third round: vs. Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-4
Round of 16: vs. Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3
Quarter-final: vs. Casper Ruud 6-2 1-6 6-3
Daniil Medvedev:
Second round: vs. Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2 6-3
Third round: vs. Sebastian Korda 6-4 5-7 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4
Quarter-final: vs. Holger Rune 7-5 6-4
Head To Head
China Open (2023) - First round: Medvedev wins 6-2 6-1
French Open (2021) - Second round: Medvedev wins 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-3
Paul and Medvedev have only faced off twice before on the ATP Tour, and the Russian unsurprisingly emerged victorious on both occasions, prevailing at last year's China Open and the 2021 French Open.
The 2023 Beijing battle saw Medvedev thrash his American opponent 6-2 6-1 in just 81 minutes thanks to an exceptional serving display, in which he registered nine aces and won 62% of points against Paul's second serve.
The home favourite did actually win the inaugural ATP Tour set versus Medvedev, but the Russian subsequently fought back to succeed in four during the second round of the 2021 French Open, meaning that he enters Saturday's match on a five-set winning streak against the 17th seed.
We say: Medvedev to win in two sets
Paul's run to the semis has not been without its stiff challenges - from Djokovic's vanquisher Nardi to Grand Slam finalist Ruud - and the 26-year-old will be heavily backed by the home crowd on Court 1.
However, Medvedev made light work of the American in Beijing last year and was irrepressible during his Rune examination, so we can only picture the fourth seed booking his place in Saturday's trophy match.
Ben Knapton
