Jack Draper’s Indian Wells title defence ended in controversial circumstances during his quarter-final defeat to Daniil Medvedev, with a contentious hindrance call proving pivotal in the 6-1 7-5 loss.
The decisive moment arrived at 5-5, 0-15 in the second set. Umpire Aurelie Torte, after a video review, awarded a crucial point to Medvedev.
The call came after Draper, visibly weary from his victory over Novak Djokovic less than 24 hours earlier, raised his arms at a disputed line call, deemed to have distracted his opponent. This controversial decision allowed Medvedev to secure a vital break.
The California crowd made their feelings clear, booing Medvedev at the change of ends and after he sealed victory.
The two players had a long chat at the net as they shook hands, with Medvedev saying “If you’re mad at me, I’m sorry” and Draper responding “I’m not at all – but I don’t think it distracted you enough”.
Despite the contentious circumstances, Draper shook hands with both Medvedev and Torte before leaving the court.
The opening set had been one-sided, with Draper broken in his first service game after a net cord favoured Medvedev, who then raced to a 4-0 lead within 15 minutes.
Draper finally got on the board with a hold of serve to make it 5-1 but it was only a temporary reprieve as Medvedev wrapped up the set in 25 minutes.
The second set was a closer contest, although it was the Draper serve which was consistently coming under the greater pressure, with Medvedev telling his opponent he “didn’t feel great” about the incident which ultimately contributed to him sealing a semi-final spot at the end of the match.
British interest in the singles came to an end as Cameron Norrie went down 6-3 6-4 to Carlos Alcaraz.
The British number two fought gamely against the world number one but was eventually outclassed.
Norrie struggled to land a blow on the Alcaraz serve in the early stages while struggling to hold his own and the 30-year-old was eventually broken in the sixth game of the contest.
Surprisingly that led to a temporary lapse of concentration from the Spaniard, who was broken back to love only to then force a third straight break before wrapping up the opening set.
Norrie gained an early break in the second set but his own service problems saw Alcaraz haul his way back in front.
Norrie saved the first three match points he faced but Alcaraz duly converted the fourth to set up a semi-final showdown with Medvedev.
In the women’s singles, Elena Rybakina overcame Jessica Pegula in straight sets and will face Elina Svitolina in the last four.
