Indian Wells live on 9th: Burning Rublev competes with “Little Federer” Dimitrov

(Sports news, tennis news) – The remaining two quarterfinals of the men’s singles and the two semi-finals of the women’s singles will be the highlight of the 9th day of competition at Indian Wells Masters.

Andrey Rublev – Grigor Dimitrovaround 2pm, March 19, men’s singles quarterfinals

After overcoming Dominik Koepfer and Frances Tiafoe with little effort, Rublev faced the challenge in round 4 when he faced Hubert Hurkacz. The Russian player had to rely on a tie-break in the first set to get ahead and then win 6-4 in the second set, advancing to the quarterfinals. This is Rublev’s 12th consecutive win.

Rublev faces a big challenge

Meanwhile, Dimitrov advanced to the fourth round against John Isner after gentle victories over Jordan Thompson and Alexander Bublik. Confronting the “ball machine” Isner after that, Dimitrov still kept his top form, with a decisive victory in the tie-break series in the second set to have the 2nd consecutive quarter-finals. Indian Wells.

The two sides have met a total of 4 times with each side having 2 wins. In the last encounter at China Open 2019, Rublev was the winner with the scores 6-2, 7-5.

Rublev is more appreciated for making fewer mistakes and owning “shy” forehands. Since the start of the tournament, Rublev has outperformed Dimitrov in serving. With the ability to hit the field, Dimitrov must know how to prevent durable ball situations from Rublev. If he can distract Rublev, Dimitrov will have a chance.

Miomir Kecmanovic – Taylor Harry Fritz, around 3:30, March 19, men’s singles quarterfinals

22-year-old player Miomir Kecmanovic made a big surprise when he defeated world No. 6 Matteo Berrettini in the 4th round after 3 tense sets, thereby advancing to the quarterfinals of Indian Wells for the second time (the first time in 2019). Meanwhile, Fritz also needed 3 sets to defeat Alex de Minaur.

Last October, Fritz made a big impression at Indian Wells, then rescheduled, by beating three top 10 players to advance to the semi-finals before succumbing to the then-championship player. Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Fritz is the winner of the only ever confrontation between the two sides at the Atlanta Open in 2019. However, Kecmanovic is finding a very similar form to Fritz last October. Victory over Berrettini and Marin Cilic will be a great motivation for Kecmanovic in this match.