Daniil Medvedev closed out Jack Draper 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open, but the match ended under a cloud after a controversial hindrance ruling late in the second set. With Draper serving at 5-5, 0-15 he believed a Medvedev shot had been called out, raised his arms and continued the point, ultimately winning the ensuing baseline exchange.

Medvedev then approached chair umpire Aurelie Tourte to ask about options and was told he could challenge with a video review. He used that option and the point was awarded to Medvedev as a hindrance. Moments later Medvedev broke serve and served out the match. Fans voiced their displeasure by booing the decision, the break and the ending. Draper shook Medvedev’s hand and also shook Tourte’s hand after another brief exchange between the players.

Medvedev, a two-time finalist at the tournament, addressed the incident after the match. “Was I distracted big time? No. Do I feel good about it? Not really. But I also don’t feel like I cheated or something,” he asserted.

“So I got a bit distracted. I let it go, I let the referee decide. I had a lot of calls against me in my life, and I usually don’t handle them well. To get one on my side, I guess feels good as well.”

Draper, who had eliminated Novak Djokovic less than 24 hours earlier in a decisive tiebreak, acknowledged he wished he had acted differently. “now I can actually even talk more, because I have more info. I think I should have done it the moment it happened, like, I should not have waited until the end of the point, and then it would be a bit more, probably available.”

When Tourte communicated her ruling during the match, Draper told her, “I think you’ve got that wrong.”

Jannik Sinner, the world No. 2, is among several ATP players who have been working on their golf games while in Indian Wells. Where the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud take their time on the greens very seriously, Sinner says he uses golf primarily to unwind.

Prakash Amritraj lightly teased Sinner about his swing shortly after the Italian eased past Learner Tien in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open:

PRAKASH AMRITRAJ: It feels like so many of the players I’m speaking to are talking about their golf game. I think you posted something in December, and the swing is looking much cleaner than the last time you posted it. Please tell me a little about Jannik Sinner’s golf journey at the moment.

JANNIK SINNER: Are you trying to embarrass me here?

PRAKASH AMRITRAJ: I’m serious! The one you posted in December looked like a really good swing.

JANNIK SINNER: Nah, nah, it’s all bad. I love to golf because you have a moment for yourself. You don’t see people. You don’t use the phone. I really like to put some music and just cruise around. That, for me, is my golf. I’m not there to compete. I don’t even have a handicap. I learned a lot with Darren. Darren is a very, very good player, and also Simone Vagnozzi. He’s getting into golf like crazy. He’s not here. He’s at home playing golf! He will join me again in Miami. But when we go, I just have fun. I love it.

Despite the off-court pastime, Sinner’s focus remained on the tournament. His groundstrokes and movement looked sharp as he defeated Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to reach the semifinals, keeping the priority on tennis at the BNP Paribas Open.

Alexander Zverev reached a pair of milestones Thursday by beating Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.

The victory produced the first career semifinal at Indian Wells for Zverev, a seven-time Masters 1000 champion whose previous best at the event were quarterfinal exits in 2021 and 2024. He lost those matches to Taylor Fritz in 2021 and to Carlos Alcaraz in 2024.

Beyond the tournament milestone, the win completed a rare career achievement: Zverev has now reached the semifinals or better at all nine Masters 1000 events. Indian Wells was the only Masters stop missing from his list until Thursday.

Born in 1997, Zverev is the first player born in 1990 or later (or even 1988 or later) to reach the semifinals at all nine Masters 1000 events since the series began in 1990. He becomes the fifth man to accomplish that feat, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Zverev has appeared in at least one final at seven of those nine events. He has not yet reached the final at Indian Wells or at Monte Carlo, which means he is two wins away from completing a career set of Masters 1000 finals.

Thursday’s straight-sets victory over Fils provided a clear scoreline and a historical marker for Zverev as he advances to the penultimate round at Indian Wells. The result ties together his past success across the Masters calendar with a milestone that places him alongside the sport’s most successful players in Masters-level consistency.