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The men’s quarterfinals and women’s semifinals took place on Friday at Indian Wells, with superstars like Roger Federer and Serena Williams in action.
Below, we’ll take a look at the day’s results and preview Saturday’s action.
Men’s Friday Results
No. 32 Milos Raonic def. No. 18 Sam Querrey: 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
No. 6 Juan Martin Del Potro def. No. 31 Philipp Kohlschreiber: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Men’s Preview
Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Saturday’s semifinals are now set after Friday’s results, with No. 1 Roger Federer set to battle Borna Coric and Raonic taking on Del Potro.
Federer, obviously, will be the prohibitive favorite against the 21-year-old Coric. Federer won the only matchup between the two in 2015 and has won every match thus far this season, going a cool 16-0 with titles at the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open.
He’s doing all of this at the age of 36. It’s kinda ridiculous, though at some point Federer expects to be supplanted.
“The young guys are still calibrating their game, understanding what they need to do. They are still working on a lot of things,” he said on Thursday, per Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. “So there is a lot on the plate for them, but they will learn and they’ll get better and eventually push us out and that will be the end from us. Pretty simple, right? That’s just how life is.”
But nobody’s pushing Federer out anytime soon, it would appear. And given the way he is playing right now—he hasn’t dropped a set this tournament—a Coric upset feels borderline inconceivable.
Raonic vs. Del Potro is harder to call. Raonic holds a 2-1 advantage in the series and won their most recent matchup in 2017 at the Delray Beach Open.
Del Potro is having the better season, however, currently holding a 15-3 record and a Mexican Open title. Raonic has struggled, on the other hand, going just 5-3 this season, which included a first-round loss at the Australian Open.
Recent form would favor Del Potro, who knows he likely will have to go through Federer to win a title.
“I’m not thinking about that,” he said when asked about a potential meeting with Federer, per Mikael McKenzie of the Express “I just want to keep winning. It’s good to me feel with this confidence when I getting to the court and I play well, but I’m going step by step. Of course any chance to play with Roger would be great.”
Look for Del Potro to beat Raonic and get his shot at dethroning the hottest player in tennis.
The women’s results and preview will be updated after Friday night’s semifinal matches conclude.