Daniil Medvedev continued his winning run by defeating Frances Tiafoe to reach his first BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells.
The former world number one arrived in the Californian desert having won successive tournaments in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai and he has maintained that form impressively.
American Tiafoe saved seven match points in a spirited ending to the first semi-final but eventually fell to a 7-5 7-6 (4) defeat as Medvedev made it 19 victories in a row.
Bien joué, Monsieur Medvedev 🫡
On his 8th match point vs Tiafoe, @DaniilMedwed seals his place in the 2023 #TennisParadise final! pic.twitter.com/33cpW4Fntb— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 18, 2023
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The Russian, who hurt his ankle and thumb in falls in his last two matches, broke serve in the 11th game of the opening set, and looked well on his way to victory with another break to start the second.
Tiafoe was hanging on as he saved three match points serving at 3-5. That appeared to be delaying the inevitable but Medvedev tightened up and twice failed to serve it out, including from 40-0 at 6-5.
The crowd roared the American star on, and he battled back from 1-5 down in the tie-break to 4-5 before Medvedev finally made it across the line.
