Indian Wells: Andrey Rublev beats Dimitrov, wins 13th straight match
Russia's Andrey Rublev reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters after claiming a straight-set win over 33rd seed Grigor Dimitrov. The former extended his winning streak this year to 13 with a 7-5, 6-2 win. Rublev has reached the semi-finals at the Indian Wells for the first time. He is still in pursuit of his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.
Rublev never trailed throughout the match. He won a total of 72 points, while his opponent Dimitrov won 14 winners in the match. The latter won 69% of the net points (9/13), while Rublev won 81% (29/36) of the first serve points.
"I played really well. Since the beginning, it was more about who would be the first one, who would start to lead the point, who would start to dictate to play more aggressive. Both of us would like to take our forehand and try to dictate, so it was just who's going to be the first one," Rublev said after the match.
Rublev has now won 13 straight matches in the ongoing season. Before the Indian Wells, the Russian won the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai (beat Jiri Vesely in the final). Prior to that, Rublev won in Marseille, overcoming Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. The former also reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam. Rublev has lost only two matches this year.
Rublev is yet to drop a set in the ongoing BNP Paribas Open. He has claimed straight-set wins over Dominik Koepfer, Frances Tiafoe, Hubert Hurkacz, and Dimitrov. Rublev will take on 20th seed Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals. Fritz defeated Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1 in his quarter-final clash. Notably, Rublev and Fritz have won two matches each against each other.
Rublev has qualified for his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in the past 12 months. Overall, he owns a win-loss record of 35-29 at this level. He reached the final of the Cincinnati Open in 2021 (lost to Alexander Zverev). Earlier that year, Rublev lost the final of Monte-Carlo to Stefanos Tsitsipas. The former will now attempt to clinch his first Masters 1000 title.
