Jack Draper booked his place in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with
an impressive straight-sets victory over third seed Taylor Fritz.
Seven successive games from late in the first set turned the match in Draper’s favour before he navigated a late stumble to win 7-5 6-4.
Serve dominated the first 10 games, the British No 1 seizing his only break opportunity in the 11th game and serving out to win the set.
Draper, seeded 13th in Indian Wells, broke twice more as he surged into a 4-0 lead in the second set against the world No 4.
He finally stumbled when serving for the match at 5-2 as a double fault handed the American former champion a break, but a pair of aces propelled him to victory at the second attempt.
“It is the best match I have played here so far in the three years I have been here,” Draper said
“There were a few moments here and there where I was brave, which I spoke to my coach about before the match.
“Taylor is such an amazing player, so to come through in the way I did, I am very proud of that.”
Draper faces Ben Shelton, 22, in the last eight after the American 11th seed beat Brandon Nakashima 7-6 6-1.
Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, took just 74 minutes to book his place in the quarter finals after dismantling Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-1.
But ninth seed Alex de Minaur was knocked out in straight sets by Francisco Cerundolo, meaning it is the Argentine who will face second seed Alcaraz.
Gauf stunned by wildcard, Britain’s Kartal loses to Sabalenka
In the women’s draw, British No 3 Sonay Kartal‘s run ended at the last-16 stage as she was beaten 6-1 6-2 against Aryna Sabalenka.
The British No 3 reached the main draw at the competition as a lucky loser following Sloane Stephens’ withdrawal and after beating Polina Kudermetova in the previous round, she was rewarded with a match against world No 1 Sabalenka.
Although Kartal broke to win the first game of the opening set, Sabalenka quickly settled into the match and powered away to book a clash with Liudmila Samsonova, a 6-0 6-4 winner over sixth seed Jasmine Paolini.
Wildcard Belinda Bencic secured her spot in the quarter-finals, coming from behind to earn a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over third seed Coco Gauff. She will face Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who beat Donna Vekic 4-6 7-6 6-3.
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