Madison Keys powered into the Indian Wells semifinals on Thursday, dismantling wild-card Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-1 in just 65 minutes to notch her 16th straight victory. The fifth-seeded American, who claimed the Australian Open title earlier this year, now sets up a highly anticipated rematch with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The two last met at Melbourne Park in January, where Keys defeated Sabalenka in a three-set battle, halting the Belarusian’s bid for a third straight title.
Despite upsetting No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the previous round, Bencic — a 28-year-old from Switzerland — had no answers for Keys’ relentless play.
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her dominant run in the California desert, advancing to her fourth straight semifinal at Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-3 win over eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng. Swiatek, the No. 2 seed and a five-time Grand Slam winner, is aiming to become the first woman to win the event three times. She’s riding a 10-match win streak at Indian Wells, having also lifted the trophy in 2022.
Zheng, who had ended Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at the Paris Olympics last year, couldn’t replicate that magic. Though she broke Swiatek twice and won six games — equaling the total games Swiatek had lost all tournament — the Polish star converted all five of her break points to seal the match.
In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev battled past rising French talent Arthur Fils to reach the semifinals for a third straight year. The 29-year-old Russian, seeded fifth, came through a tense 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7) win in two hours and 25 minutes. The third set featured a brief pause when swirling winds scattered debris across the court, but Medvedev stayed composed to close it out in a tiebreak.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Ben Shelton’s impressive run came to an end in the quarterfinals. He was the youngest American man to make it this far at Indian Wells since 2004, but Jack Draper of England halted his momentum with a 6-4, 7-5 win to book a semifinal spot.
Also advancing were Holger Rune, who rallied for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Tallon Griekspoor to reach his first Indian Wells semifinal, and 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who defeated Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3 to secure a place in the women’s last four.