INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) – Nikoloz Basilashvili beat American Taylor Fritz 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Saturday to set up a final against Cameron Norrie at the BNP Paribas Open, which will crown its first men’s winner ranked outside the Top 25 since 2010.
Norrie of Britain beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-2 in an 86-minute semifinal. Basilashvili needed 1 hour, 41 minutes to get by Fritz, who grew up in the San Diego area and was the clear favorite of the fans.
Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka plays 21st-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain in the women’s final Sunday.
The combined ATP and WTA tournament has been filled with upsets during its two-week run in the fall instead of its usual March date. Top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Karolina Pliskova were among the fallen in an event missing Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.
It’s the first time in the tournament’s 45-year history that all four men’s semifinalists were ranked outside of the Top 25. Norrie is 25th, Dimitrov 28th, Basilashvili 36th and Fritz 39th.
The last man outside the Top 25 to win Indian Wells was No. 26 Ivan Ljubicic in 2010.
Fritz was trying to reach the final and have a shot at becoming the tournament’s first American winner since Andre Agassi in 2001. Instead, the 23-year-old fell to 0-5 in semifinals this year.
Fritz’s ace gave him a 6-5 lead in the first. He had a break point on Basilashivili’s serve to close out the set, but the big-hitting Georgian fought it off and hit a backhand crosscourt winner on the second deuce to force the tiebreaker. Tied 5-all in the breaker, Fritz committed two straight errors to drop the set.