“I’m not sure what I was thinking, but it was an amazing atmosphere,” he said on court after the match.
Medvedev last grabbed headlines for a post-win celebration when he channeled FIFA after claiming the 2021 US Open, but this reaction appeared entirely organic as he apologized to Fils at the net.
Contrasted to the thrill of victory, Fils dealt with the agony of defeat in what was his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal, smashing a racquet and holding back tears after squandering a 4-2 lead in the deciding set.
The win earned Medvedev, who went on to describe multiple close losses in his on-court interview, his first trip to a Masters semifinal since last March (Miami). Indian Wells is the only hard-court Masters 1000 that the self-proclaimed “specialist” is yet to win.
