Auger-Aliassime eliminated by top-seeded Alcaraz in Indian Wells quarterfinals
Swiatek to face Rybakina in women's semifinals
Top-seed Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz dispatched Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime from the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Thursday night in Indian Wells, Calif.
Alcaraz earned a straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Auger-Aliassime. The eighth-seeded Canadian came into the match having won all three of his previous meetings with Alcaraz, including one in Canada's upset win over Spain in the round-robin stage of last year's Davis Cup.
The 22-year-old from Montreal fired six aces in the match but double-faulted six times. Alcaraz also had as many aces [two] as double faults.
But Alcaraz broke Auger-Aliassime three times in 12 opportunities., The Canadian converted one of his four break chances.
In women's doubles action, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani lost their quarterfinal match 6-2, 7-6 (4) to Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia and Japan's Miyu Kato.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime falls to Alcaraz at Indian Wells:
Swiatek, Rybakina reach semis
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek breezed past Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday.
Swiatek, the defending champion, took a 4-0 lead in the second set and converted her second match point to close it out.
10 desert wins in a row 🌴<br><br>Defending champ <a href="https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iga_swiatek</a> has yet to drop a set en route to the semis, defeating Cirstea 6-2, 6-3.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TennisParadise?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TennisParadise</a> <a href="https://t.co/tXHtZVe0tK">pic.twitter.com/tXHtZVe0tK</a>
—@BNPPARIBASOPENNext up for Swiatek is No. 10 seed Elena Rybakina, who outlasted Karolina Muchova 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4. It will be a rematch from the Australian Open in January, when Rybakina won 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Jannik Sinner beat defending champion Taylor Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to become the first Italian man to reach the semifinals of the 47-year-old tournament. He will face Alcaraz on Saturday.
Alcaraz needs to win the title to reclaim the world's No. 1 ranking.
Sinner, the 11th seed, advanced to the semis at a Masters 1000 for the second time. He had 32 winners to 25 for Fritz; both had 17 unforced errors.
Sinner connected on 80 per cent of his first serves and won 15 of 18 points at the net.
She dropped her first set of the tournament in the second, but turned it up in the third. The 2022 Wimbledon champion won 15 of 16 first-serve points and never faced a break point in the set.
Rybakina and Swiatek are 1-1 against each other in their careers.
With files from The Associated Press
