British No 1 Jack Draper was controversially ruled to have caused a hindrance to opponent Daniil Medvedev as his Indian Wells title defence ended in the quarter-finals.
The 24-year-old Briton, looking understandably weary from his exploits in beating Novak Djokovic less than 24 hours earlier, went down 6-1 7-5 to the former world No 1.
The decisive moment came at 5-5 and 0-15 in the second set when umpire Aurelie Torte decided to award Medvedev a point following a video review after Draper had raised his arms at a disputed line call and was deemed to have distracted his opponent, with Medvedev going on to seal a crucial break.
The California crowd made their feelings clear as Medvedev was booed at the change of ends and again after sealing victory a short time later, although Draper shook hands with both Medvedev and Torte before leaving the court.
In a one-sided first set, Draper was broken in his opening service game after a net cord fell in Medvedev’s favour at break point.
After rattling through his own service game, Medvedev produced winners down the line and cross court to move into a 4-0 lead after just 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.
‘I feel hard done by’ – Draper on hindrance call
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Draper and Medvedev react to the controversial hindrance call during their quarter-final match
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Tim Henman, Draper said: “Do I think it’s the reason why I lost the match? Absolutely not. I think Daniil was by far the stronger player. I do feel a bit hard done by because I don’t think it distracted him enough to lose the point.
“It’s a difficult situation because I did make a movement with my hands and the Umpire had to make a call on it. A little hard done by that I lost the point but I can also see it from a subjective point of view.”
Medvedev is on an eight-match winning streak, having arrived in California following a title run in Dubai.
The 30-year-old has won 16 sets in a row since falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Rotterdam.
“If you look at the first forehand I did after it happened, I think I could have done a better shot if there was no gesture from Jack,” Medvedev told reporters.
“Was I distracted big time? No. Do I feel good about it? Not really. But I also don’t feel like I cheated or something. I got a bit distracted. I let it go and I let the umpire decide.”
What is hindrance in tennis?
Draper was called for hindrance during his defeat to Medvedev, but what does that mean?
A hindrance refers to a situation in which a player is hindered from making a shot by anything that is not within the player’s control other than a permanent fixture or a spectator’s outcry.
Types of hindrance include talking, grunting, outside noises, repeated request of your opponent, body movements, loose items and injuries.
Umpire Torte explained to Draper: “You did something different in the rally that you wouldn’t normally do. It is something different.”
Draper argued: “There is no way it distracted him enough. In the rule book, if he misses the next ball then I understand, but we played two more shots.
“I think you’ve got that wrong.”
Norrie outclassed by Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Cameron Norrie
British interest in the singles came to an end as Cameron Norrie went down 6-3 6-4 to Carlos Alcaraz.
The British No 2 fought gamely against the world No 1 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.
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Highlights of the Indian Wells quarter-final match between Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie
“It was really difficult, I struggled with Cameron’s style,” Alcaraz said.
“I was trying to play my best but there was a little bit of confusion. His forehand has super top-spin and his backhands are very flat, so sometimes it’s tricky to play against him and find the correct shots.
“But I played solid and aggressive when I could. I’m happy to be at this level.”
Alcaraz on his ‘Bee Squad’ fans
Alcaraz thanked the support of a group of fans who showed up at Indian Wells dressed as bees, recalling an episode two years ago when a swarm of bees forced the interruption of his match against Alexander Zverev.
“They asked me to wear it, and I had to do it for them. It’s amazing how they support me every match. It has been really funny,” he said at the press conference.
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