Indian Wells SF preview and prediction: Medvedev vs. Tiafoe

Daniil Medvedev continues to ride his wave of success into the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, where he will face crowd favorite Frances Tiafoe. The American has not yet dropped a set in the tournament.

Daniil Medvedev, who has been on a tear since bowing out early in the Australian Open, has amassed a 23-2 record for the year so far. He has won his past three tournaments, the last in Dubai–where he routined Novak Djokovic in the semis and Andrey Rublev in the final. And despite his complaints about the slow surface in Indian Wells, the Russian looks poised to get a crack at the first Masters 1000 title of 2023.

Medvedev hasn’t been quite as dominant this week as he was in Dubai, but the world No. 6 prefers a much quicker hard court than the one he finds in the California desert. Still, he had an excellent and clutch win over Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the fourth round–playing his best tennis when it mattered.

Frances Tiafoe, ranked 16th, has had a mixed bag of results so far this. The 2022 U.S. Open semifinalist crashed out of the Australian Open in the third round. Tiafoe did win all of his matches for Team U.S.A. at the United Cup in January, but it has otherwise been a lackluster season for the American until this fortnight.

Tiafoe enjoyed a favorable path the the semifinals, as he didn’t face a single seed until Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals. Prior to that he dispatched Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler, and Alejandro Tablio. Tiafoe has played well this week, but he hasn’t really been pushed hard. Medvedev will push him, to say the least.

The Russian holds a 4-0 head-to-head over Tiafoe, although the last time they met was in Miami back in 2021. Tiafoe will almost certainly have the support of the crowd, but this one should go Medvedev’s way.

Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 2

Ricky pick: Medvedev in 2

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