What A Difference One Week Can Make
Tennis can be a roller coaster of a sport.
One week, you might be wondering when your season will start gaining speed. The next, you're the surprise story of one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
[ALSO LIKE]
Such is life this week for German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who before the BNP Paribas Open hadn't won back-to-back matches in 2018. But on Wednesday in Indian Wells, Kohlschreiber won his third match of the week, beating Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(1) to make the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in California.
It's Kohlschreiber's first Masters 1000 quarter-final since 2010 Toronto and only the fifth of his career (also 2007 Monte-Carlo, 2008 Cincinnati, 2010 Monte-Carlo). The 34-year-old right-hander is the first German to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals since current tournament director Tommy Haas in 2008.
“I felt like the level of tennis I played in the past weeks got better and better, and then luckily here it all come together. I like the conditions. I like the weather. I think I played some good tennis here already in the past, so I knew it could be a good tournament for me,” Kohlschreiber said.
Herbert was seeking his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final, and the Frenchman nearly pushed the fourth-round match to three sets. Kohlschreiber broke in the first game of both sets, but when it came time to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, he faltered as Herbert broke for the first time when Kohlschreiber sailed a forehand wide.
In the tie-break, however, the German regrouped, sprinting to the finish by winning seven of eight points. He will next meet either Juan Martin del Potro or Leonardo Mayer, who compete later Wednesday.