INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Madison Keys powered her way into the BNP Paribas Open semifinals with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over wild-card entrant Belinda Bencic on Thursday, extending her impressive winning streak to 16 matches. Keys, who claimed the Australian Open title earlier this year, needed just 65 minutes to secure victory and set up a rematch with top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, later in the day, overcame Liudmila Samsonova with a 6-2, 6-3 win, positioning herself as Keys’ next opponent. Keys previously thwarted Sabalenka’s hopes of winning a third consecutive title by defeating her in a three-set thriller at Melbourne Park in January.
Bencic, riding high from an upset over fourth-seeded Coco Gauff in the previous round, could not maintain her momentum against Keys. The 28-year-old Swiss player was dominated by the American, who is seeded fifth. Meanwhile, Ben Shelton, the 22-year-old making waves as the youngest American man to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals since 2004, faced elimination. Englishman Jack Draper advanced with a victory of 6-4, 7-5 over Shelton.
Draper, seeded 13th, is set to challenge Carlos Alcaraz next. Alcaraz, the tournament’s second seed and two-time defending champion, secured his spot by defeating Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (4). Alcaraz’s win extended his own Indian Wells winning streak to 16 matches.
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek continued her pursuit of history at the BNP Paribas Open, reaching the semifinals for the fourth consecutive time. Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion and the event’s defending champion, won against eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China with a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline. The Polish player, seeded second, aims to become the first woman to claim three titles at this prestigious event. Swiatek previously won the tournament in 2022 and carries a 10-match winning streak in the California desert. Last year, Zheng ended Swiatek’s extraordinary 25-match winning streak at the Olympics.
In other results, Daniil Medvedev moved into the Indian Wells semifinals for the third consecutive year, securing a win against 20-year-old French player Arthur Fils with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7) victory. The fifth-seeded Russian persevered despite windy conditions causing a brief delay in the final set.
On the women’s side, Mirra Andreeva progressed to the semifinals by defeating Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3. Holger Rune had to rally from behind to reach his first Indian Wells semifinal, prevailing 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 against Tallon Griekspoor.
