Holger Rune delivered an ace on match point Thursday to complete a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 fightback which put the Dane into the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.

Rune fought his way back against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who has been on form over the past month, with a Dubai semi-final and a stunner here over top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round last week.

Rune, whose best showing in the Californian desert was a 2024 quarter-final, recovered with poise after losing an hour-long opening set featuring five breaks of serve.

The Dane will be playing his sixth semi at the Masters level after defeating Griekspoor for the first time in their three meetings.

The world No. 13 is the second from his country this century (Robin Haase, 2017 Montreal) to reach the final four at the elite level and second here behind Paul Haarhuis in 1996.

The match was interrupted twice in the opening set by rare spots of rain before both players were able to get on with the quarter-final job.

Griekspoor went away on the second set as Rune Levelled and the Danish seed continued his momentum in the third, with a concluding break in the fourth game enough to make the winning difference.

Rune became a teenaged Masters titleholder three years ago at Paris Bercy but has struggled this season after an Australian Open fourth round, with poor showings at events in Rotterdam, Buenos Aires and Acapulco.

Main photo:-Holger Rune into Indian Wells Semis – by ISF Ltd

Carlos Alcaraz benefitted from beaten-down  opponent in Jack Draper as the ailing Brit quit their fourth-round match at the Australian open on Sunday to hand the Spanish third seed a 7-5, 6-1 win.

Draper’s now-chronic injury and fitness problems sent Alcaraz into the last eight. The Briton was feeling the effects of winning three five-set matches since Monday. 

Draper explained: “I didn’t pull up amazingly well. I was really, really sore after I played my last match. 

“(We’ve been) managing this hip thing for the last week or so. I wasn’t expecting to come this far, actually.

“With all the hours I have played it’s been a bit too much on my body. From the first couple of games, I felt like everything was getting worse. 

“It’s not ideal to end this way.”

The Briton, who retired at the US Open, Tokyo and Acapulco last season, turne in his first of 2025 after 92 minutes of play.

Alcaraz now owns a 4-1 record in their series as he continues the quest to become the youngest man at age 21 to complete the career sweep of all four Grand Slam titles.

“It’s not the way I want to win the match to get through to the next round,” Alcaraz said. 

“I’m just happy to play in another quarter-final in Australia but a little bit sad for Jack, he’s a nice person. He doesn’t deserve to get injured.

“He couldn’t prepare the start of the season well because of an injury.

“I’m just a little bit sad for him but I’m sure he’s going to come back stronger and I want to wish him a speedy recovery.”

The Spaniard hinted that he is gaining strength as the serious end of the event approaches.

“Physically I’m feeling great so coming into the second week of a Grand Slam it’s really important to feel well physically because right now the matches are even tougher.

“I’m just ready. I think I’m doing great things off the court as well.

“I’m excited about playing my second quarter-final in Australia and hopefully getting further this year.”

Novak Djokovic, the record 10-time titlewinner here,  reached his 15th quarter-final here – tied with Roger Federer – at the expense of Jiri Lehecka, hammering the Czech 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4)..

The Serb seeded seventh defeated his second straight Czech after Tomas Machac in the previous round. He now faces  Alcaraz in a showstopper quarter-final.

But Djokovic refused the traditional on-court interview, taking the mic from Jim Courier and briefly saluting the stunned crowd. Speculation suggested he was annoyed by rude/critical  comments from fans during the match. 

Second seed Alexander Zverev  stayed in control of France’s Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to next face American 12th seed Tommy Paul, a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 winner over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.  

Brittle Brit Jack Draper has had to quit another match due to illness, with the national No. 1 exiting in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open 7-5, 2-1 to hand Ugo Humbert a victory.

Draper’s fitness has appeared fragile for several months, with the ATP No. 20 lasting for 62 minutes before throwing in the towel against his 18th-ranked French opponent.

Draper was treated on court at the Ariake Colosseum on his abdomen; he tried to resume the match but was unable to carry on.

London’s US Open semi-finalist has experienced several fitness episodes this season, including vomiting three times on court during his semi in New York three weeks ago against Jannik Sinner.

Draper was also ill after winning the Australian open first round and retired injured last March in an Acapulco semi-final against Alex de Minaur.