The 24-year-old American notched his biggest singles victory yet with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Kei Nishikori on Friday.
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A pivotal moment in the game came as Wawrinka was serving at 30-15.
Wawrinka lost the next three points and the set. “Now I feel like I’m going out and playing relaxed, calm tennis, but on my terms”. “I think he’s been doing that to players pretty consistently this year”.
Neither player lost serve for the first nine games of the opening set, and neither player had even surrendered a break-point opportunity. Vesnina eliminated No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber and No. 12 seed (and sentimental favorite) Venus Williams en route to the final.
For me, the dream run continues, Federer said, quoted ATP World Tour.
“She kept being aggressive and yeah, I was too passive”, she said.
“I play better and better. It’s very hard to overpower here”, Kuznetsova said.
Instead, we saw a Djokovic who looked helpless and frustrated against a power-hitting Kyrgios, walking from one side of the baseline to the other between points while the Aussie dictated with his serve.
While Federer had won 19 of 22 prior meetings with Wawrinka, he noted that his compatriot would be no easy mark as he played his first tournament in America since winning the US Open in September. The 18-time Grand Slam champion dominated the semifinal from the outset and needed just 21 minutes to take the first set 6-1. “I couldn’t figure out a lot the wind and stuff like that”. He kept that up by blitzing Sock in the first set Saturday. I am taking chances on the court, and hope that risks pay off. “I think that obviously the story lines now are massively changed for 2017 because, obviously, Murray and Djoker haven’t played like they’ve done, and Fed fans and Rafa fans are starting to get excited that their guys – who knows, maybe they’ll push the envelope back to the top spot”.
Despite playing on home soil, Sock was the underdog against Federer, who received loud cheers throughout the match. Djokovic beat del Potro in the third round but was taken out by Kyrgios in the fourth.
The 35-year-old Federer is through to his seventh final at the Indian Wells and is looking to win the title for the fifth time.
“It’s an fantastic result to be in the final here, especially in Indian Wells”, the Swiss three-time Slam victor said after his 6-3, 6-2 victory.
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Top-ranked Serena Williams withdrew before the tournament began with what she said was a knee injury that will also keep her out of the Miami event next week.
