Tiafoe upends Norrie, Gauff out in Indian Wells quarters
Frances Tiafoe, of the United States, returns a shot to Cameron Norrie, of Britain, at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Indian Wells, Calif. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Frances Tiafoe defeated 10th-seeded Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
The 14th-seeded American ended the 2021 champion’s eight-match winning streak to earn his first semi berth in a Masters 1000 tournament.
“Super happy about today,” Tiafoe said on court. "I’ve been playing really well all week. Let’s keep it going.”
Tiafoe hit 22 winners and had just nine unforced errors. He punctuated the victory, which was briefly interrupted by rain, by serving a love game.
“I played really quick, really close to the baseline and I was pressuring him a lot,” Tiafoe said. “I didn’t allow him to extend points and I was being super active with my feet, being really aggressive.”
Tiafoe hasn't dropped a set in four matches during the tournament. Next, he'll plays either No. 5 Daniil Medvedev or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who met later Wednesday.
On the women's side, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka defeated sixth-seeded Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka improved to 16-1 this year.
Coco Gauff, of the United States, returns a shot to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Indian Wells, Calif. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
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