INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Frances Tiafoe defeated 10th-seeded Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 on 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 semis 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 will next face No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina later Wednesday.
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.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.