Sinner breezes past Lehecka with 19th straight win to reach semi-finals at Indian Wells

Jannik Sinner dispatched Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals for a second straight year and record his 19th consecutive victory.

The Italian was in typically impressive form as he brushed aside the a tricky opponent with style. Excellent serving and Sinner’s trademark groundstrokes hit with depth and power off both wings made life difficult for the talented young Czech player.

There were flashes of the danger Lehecka posed, but such is Sinner’s confidence, experience and poise right now that he never looked in any trouble.

He has now reached his second consecutive semi-final in the Californian desert, where his next task will be a considerable step up in difficulty.

Sinner, ranked No 3, will face the winner of the match between German Alexander Zverev, the No 6 seed, and Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, next.

The 22-year-old Italian defeated Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (6-3, 6-0), German Jan-Lennard Struff, the No 25 seed (6-3, 6-4) and American Ben Shelton, the No 16 seed (7-6 (4), 6-1) ahead of his victory.

In the previous rounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Masters, Lehecka, ranked No 32, won against American wildcard Brandon Nakashima (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), Russian Andrey Rublev, the No 5 seed (6-4, 6-4) and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 11 seed (6-2, 6-4).

Indian Wells Masters 1000, other last-eight results (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 9.495.555, most recent results first):

• Daniil Medvedev vs. Holger Rune
• Alexander Zverev vs. Carlos Alcaraz
• Tommy Paul vs. Casper Ruud