Sinner sails into Indian Wells semifinals

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner powered into the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters semifinals on Thursday, pushing his match-winning streak to 19-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka.

Sinner's win streak stretches back through last year's Davis Cup finals and includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2024.

Since capturing his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne – where he stunned Novak Djokovic in the semifinals – Sinner has lifted the trophy in Rotterdam.

In breezy conditions on court two, Sinner was in firm control, breaking early in each set and saving the only break point he faced in the match.

"I am very pleased because the situation on court was different," Sinner said. "In the morning it was really windy and in the first set it was tough to handle the situation.

"He is an incredible player and has huge potential, so I was aware of every point that I made."

Sinner will next face either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or Alexander Zverev – who clash in a rematch of an Australian Open quarterfinal won in four sets by the German.

World No 2 Alcaraz, chasing his first title since he vanquished Djokovic at Wimbledon last July, has gone from strength to strength in the California desert, showing no sign that the sprained ankle that forced him out of his opening match in Rio de Janeiro in February is still troubling him.

But Zverev, ranked sixth in the world, has won five of their eight prior meetings, including that Australian Open upset.

"Obviously, we're going to try to improve the things I did wrong in Australia, play at our level and not let him dominate the match," Alcaraz said as he anticipated a "tough and fun" rematch.

Two other top-10 players clash when fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev – runner-up to Alcaraz last year – takes on No 7 Holger Rune – who saved a match point on the way to victory over 2022 Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.

Ninth-ranked Norwegian Casper Ruud will try to maintain his dominance over 26th-ranked American Tommy Paul, having won four of their five previous meetings.