I was actually feeling better and better during the match – Daniil Medvedev after qualifying for first Indian Wells semifinals

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev admitted that he was in pain when he was warming up to play against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Indian Wells on Wednesday.

However, Medvedev revealed he felt better and better as the game went on after he registered a 6-3, 7-5 win to make his way into the Indian Wells semifinals for the first time.

The Russian was able to stamp his authority on the match from the get-go, breaking the Spaniard’s serve in the second game of the opening set and soon taking a 3-0 lead. Medvedev had to work hard more in the second set but it was a dominating performance from him.

“I’m actually happy the ankle didn’t hurt much because when I warmed up, it was hurting pretty bad,” Medvedev said post-match. “I knew I was going to play, I knew I was going to try. But I couldn’t move well on the warm-up. I tried to warm it up as long as possible, took one painkiller so that probably helped. I was actually feeling better and better during the match.

“The match was absolutely crazy. I could talk about this for 15 minutes, but just really happy to go through such a tough match with such tough conditions with the wind.”

“I absolutely cut it open,” he said of his bloody thumb. “It was like fully open. I never cut myself with a knife even like this because I don’t cook much.”

Medvedev will face Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal of the tournament on Saturday. The 27-year-old has a 4-0 ATP H2H record against the American.

“He’s playing great,” Medvedev said of the home favourite. “Frances is a very pumped-up, fiery player, so he can beat anyone on a good day. I’m sure he can beat Novak, Rafa. He actually did beat Rafa in the US Open, which is huge. For sure I need to try my best to keep this head-to-head at zero. That’s never easy and I just have to show my best tennis and try to beat such a great opponent.”