BNP Paribas Open Quarterfinals Show Series Of Upsets, Must See Matches

INDIAN WELLS, CA — Eight quarterfinals matches at the BNP Paribas Open will be played Thursday, with a number of players seeking to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

One such competitor is unseeded Tallon Griekspoor, whose tournament run so far has included an upset over No. 1 Alexander Zverev. After becoming the first Dutchman since 2000 to reach the quarterfinals, his reward is a head- to-head Thursday with No. 12 Holger Rune, who took out No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets Tuesday.

No. 20 Arthur Fils had never advanced past the third round at a Masters 1000 event until Indian Wells 2025, pulling out convincing third sets against No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti and Marcos Giron. Fils' opponent, No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, has enjoyed greater success in the desert, with runner-up finishes in each of the past two years. Fils and Medvedev have never contested a match on an outdoor court before.

Eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng and second-seeded Iga Swiatek will face each other at 11 a.m. for the first time since last year's Olympic Games, when Zheng broke her opponent's 23-match clay-court win streak en route to the gold medal. Before that, Swiatek had won each of their six previous matches, including another Southern California showdown at the 2022 San Diego Open.

No. 9 Mirra Andreeva and No. 23 Elina Svitolina each overcame higher- ranked foes before entering the quarterfinals, with Svitolina dispatching No. 7 Elena Rybakina and Andreeva defeating both No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 14 Danielle Collins. Asked about facing a Ukrainian opponent at a press conference earlier this week, the Russian Andreeva said she would "try not to think about it" and "focus on [her] game." Svitolina, who has been outspoken about the international conflict, has notably refused to shake hands with opponents from Russia and Belarus after matches.

Two young stars, No. 11 Ben Shelton and No. 13 Jack Draper, are set to share the court for the first time on tour. Shelton and Draper are each 6- foot-4 with formidable serves, averaging close to 9.5 aces per match. Shelton is the only one in his family to make it this far at Indian Wells -- despite taking the opening set, his father, Bryan, was bested in the 1992 second round by Pete Sampras.

After defeating No. 9 Alex de Minaur despite just two aces (and five double faults), No. 25 Francisco Cerúndolo will be hoping that his strong return game produces similar results against two-time defending champion No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Cerúndolo can rely on his baseline style somewhat more than his last loss to Alcaraz, which came on grass.

Unseeded Belinda Bencic showed resilience to defeat No. 3 Coco Gauff in three sets Wednesday. Her next opponent is another American, No. 5 Madison Keys, who boasts a 17-1 record in 2025 -- including a triumph at the Australian Open. Bencic and Keys split their previous four matches 2-2, with Keys prevailing in the only match on hard court.

No 1. Aryna Sabalenka and No. 24 Liudmila Samsonova also have a 2-2 head-to-head record going into Thursday's meeting. Sabalenka has yet to lose a set in this tournament, with Samsonova being her first ranked opponent of this tournament run.

Both singles finals are scheduled to occur Sunday. A full scoreboard can be viewed at bnpparibasopen.com.