Doubles Wrap: Stars Align as Semifinal Showdowns Nearly Set

After a wild weekend and an upset-laden start to week two of the BNP Paribas Open, Wednesday’s action painted a clearer picture of what to expect as championship weekend approaches in the desert.

The WTA semifinals are set, while two teams – both featuring all-American line-ups – are into the men’s doubles semifinals. Here’s a look at where we stand – in doubles.

ATP

John Isner and Jack Sock used a solid attack to overpower Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram 7-6(2), 7-6(2). The American duo has found solid momentum heading into the semifinals after both Isner and Sock were ousted from the singles draw. They will face the winner of Thursday’s evening matchup between Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic and Feliciano Lopez/Marc López.

In the nightcap, Bob and Mike Bryan strung together an impressive performance, eliminating New Zealand native Marcus Daniell and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, coming from a break down to win the first set 7-5. They’d win the second with ease 6-1 to clinch the match.

Also on Thursday’s slate: Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos take on singles quarterfinalist Sam Querrey and partner Gilles Muller in a showdown of unlikely (and unseeded) teams. The winner will get the seventh-seeded and aforementioned Bryan brothers duo, with a trip to the finals on the line.

WTA

Wednesday’s only WTA doubles match ended as quickly as it started, with top-seeded duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina continuing their roll and squandering Laura Arruabarrena and Arantxa Parra Santonja’s bid at a semifinal appearance. Makarova/Vesnina made quick work of the Spanish pair 6-2, 6-2, setting up an Australian Open championship rematch with Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. The semifinal appearance for Makarova/Vesnina will mark their third in the last four attempts at Indian Wells.

The other WTA semifinal matchup will feature third-seeded Xu Yifan and Gabriela Dabrowski, who are coming off a final-set tiebreak win over María José Martínez Sánchez and Andreja Klepač in the quarterfinals. They will take on unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova with the winner advancing to the finals on Saturday.