American drought in Indian Wells will continue as Pegula ousted by Rybakina

For the 25th straight year there will not be an American champion at the BNP Paribas Open.

The final hope, No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, was overpowered by No. 3 seed and 2023 champion Elena Rybakina 6-1, 7-6(4) in Thursday’s quarterfinal.

Serena Williams won this tournament in 2001 and since then, no American has won and only Lindsay Davenport (2003-05) and Serena Williams (2016) have even made a final.

Rybakina, meanwhile, has been playing as well as anyone. She won the Australian Open in January and was the 2023 winner here.

The match looked like it was going to be a runaway, after Rybakina stormed out of the gate and took the first set wit ease, but Pegula battled back.

She showed her mettle by breaking Rybakina and openinig up a 4-1 lead in the second set, but the talented 26-year-old from Kazakhstan chipped away and forced a tiebreaker. In the tiebreak, Rybakina’s big serve put her in position to win some easy points and that was enough for her to pull away.

Two-time champ falls as Svitolina tops Swiatek

Elina Svitolina, the pride of the Ukraine, outlasted World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in a tense contest on Stadium 2 on Thursday afternoon. Svitolina broke Swiatek at 4-4 in the third set for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win.

Swiatek, the champion here in 2022 and 2024 was looking to become the first women’s player to win here three times, but that will have to wait. For the record, there are 10 players in the two-timer’s club, but no one has three. That group consists of Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Swiatek.

Instead it will be Svitolina advancing to the semifinal for the second time in her career here. She will face 2023 champion and No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina in Friday’s semifinal. The two have played six times and have split those contests 3-3.

Noskova makes first BNP Paribas Open semifinal

Linda Noskova, seeded No. 14, was pushed by surprise quarterfinalist Talia Gibson, a qualifier from Australia, but emerged with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win.

A Masters 1000 semifinal is a big accomplishment for the 21-year-old from Czechia who has only done it one other time, when she made the final at Beijing last year. Noskova made a big impression on fans at this event when she thumped rising star Alexandra Eala 6-2, 6-0 on Tuesday night.

She will have her work cut out for her in the next round when she plays the World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rybakina, Svitolina, Noskova advance to BNP Paribas Open semifinals