INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - Daniil Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (4), winning on his eighth match point, for his 19th consecutive match victory of the year and a berth in the BNP Paribas Open final.
Medvedev will play for the title Sunday against the winner of the other semifinal between top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz and No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner.
Medvedev, the fifth seed, has dominated Tiafoe, winning all five of their career meetings, including 12 of 13 sets in the process.
But the 14th-seeded American put up a valiant fight, saving seven match points in the second set before succumbing.
“If I didn’t win this match, I think I would have nightmares for a very long time. I would not sleep well tonight and a few nights more,” Medvedev said on court.
Tiafoe regularly charged the net to counter Medvedev’s power baseline game. He saved three break points and stayed on serve until the 11th game of the first set. But Medvedev had a net-cord forehand winner to up 6-5 and then served out the set.
Tiafoe saved three match points while serving down 5-3 in the second. Medvedev piled up four more match points while serving for the match leading 6-5, but couldn’t cash in until the tiebreaker.
Medvedev had 30 winners and just nine unforced errors.
Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak dates to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Now, the 2021 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 1 is in position to add another one.
Medvedev has proven resilient during the 12-day tournament in the Southern California desert. He overcame a badly twisted ankle and a cut thumb in two straight matches to power through to the final.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the women’s doubles title with a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 10-7 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and Laura Siegemund of Germany.
The Czech duo improved to 11-0 this year, having won the Australian Open championship in January. They split $436,730 in prize money.
