Daniil Medvedev edges Arthur Fils in a thriller

Daniil Medvedev is through to his third consecutive Indian Wells semi-final. World no. 6 faced the young Frenchman Arthur Fils in the quarter-final and prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in two hours and 25 minutes. 

The Russian trailed 4-2 in the decider before erasing the deficit and converting the third match point in the tie break. Daniil showed his emotions after winning the final point, making a proper celebration of a hard-fought victory. 

Medvedev claimed four points more than his rival. He lost serve four times and made a push behind the rival’s second serve. Fils denied eight of 11 break points, giving everything but ending on the losing side in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

L’ÉNORME échange remporté par Arthur Fils contre Daniil Medvedev. 🥵🇫🇷

45 COUPS, et tout y est passé. 😭pic.twitter.com/We8eBDKYgv

— Univers Tennis 🎾 (@UniversTennis) March 13, 2025

Daniil landed 17 winners and 30 unforced errors. Arthur added 25 direct points to his tally but sprayed 52 mistakes. The Frenchman led 28-24 in service winners and forged a massive 23-4 advantage at the net. Medvedev built a 62-41 lead from the baseline, which kept him in contention. 

Nothing separated them in the shortest, mid-range and most extended exchanges, and it all came to those deciding points in the tie break. The 5th seed served well in the opening set and kept the pressure on the other side. 

Fils struggled in the opening part of the set. The Frenchman saved a break point in the opening game of the match before missing a smash in windy conditions in game three, suffering a break at love and falling 2-1 behind. 

Daniil held in the fourth game with a forced error cement the advantage and extend the gap. Arthur saved another break point in the fifth game, and they both served well in the remaining ones. Medvedev drew Fils’ mistake in game ten, taking the opener 6-4 in 41 minutes.

The Frenchman took charge in…