WATCH: Frances Tiafoe saves seven match points in close battle against Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells Open
Frances Tiafoe shows a fighting spirit and denied Daniil Medvedev an easy win in the second set of the semifinals.
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Frances Tiafoe
In his debut Masters 1000 semifinal, Frances Tiafoe valiantly saved seven match points but ultimately succumbed to the former top-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev. On Saturday in Indian Wells, Medvedev continued his impressive run in the tournament, defeating Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) and extending his remarkable winning streak to 19 consecutive matches.
Having clinched three titles in as many weeks at Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai, the Russian player is now on the brink of securing his fifth Masters 1000 title and the 19th ATP title of his career after defeating Tiafoe in straight sets. Despite the loss, Tiafoe put up a strong fight, saving seven match points in the second set to prevent the match from being completely one-sided.
In the opening stages of the match, both Medvedev and Tiafoe held their serves for ten consecutive games. However, Medvedev was the first to break the pattern during Tiafoe’s service game when the score was tied at 5-all. He successfully converted his fourth break point of the match with a quick reflex forehand pass, giving him a 6-5 lead. Medvedev then went on to win the set comfortably, serving it out at love after Tiafoe missed a forehand.
Medvedev continued to maintain his momentum and immediately broke Tiafoe’s serve in the first game of the second set with a stunning forehand passing shot that narrowly clipped the line. Both players held their serves for the remainder of the set until Tiafoe found himself serving to stay in the match when the score was 3-5.
Frances Tiafoe climbs up the ATP charts
With his recent performance at the Indian Wells Open, the local star, Frances Tiafoe climbs up the ATP rankings to 14th from 16th. Reaching the semifinals is indeed good work from Tiafoe considering his ranking. Although he lost to a better player, Daniil Medvedev in the semis, he can be proud of his performance in the tournament.
He hasn’t lost a set in the matches he won and moreover he also claimed a win against Cameron Norrie, who is a top-10 seeded. Even in the semis, he impressed everyone with the way he came back in the second set to push it into a tie-breaker. Tiafoe faced the daunting task of saving three match points but managed to hold his serve, narrowing the score to 4-5.
He then broke Medvedev’s serve for the first time in the match, tying it up at 5-all. However, Medvedev responded quickly, breaking Tiafoe’s serve at love to regain a chance to serve for the match. He had four more match points, but Tiafoe fought off each one of them to force a tie-breaker. Medvedev dominated the tie-breaker, taking a commanding 5-1 lead, and eventually secured victory on his eighth match point.
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Santhosh Tenneti
(308 Articles Published)