Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner among stars in action at BNP Paribas Open

The heat is being turned up at the BNP Paribas Open in every way possible.

The temperatures are rising toward 100 degrees. Thursday is traditionally the most loaded day with all eight quarterfinal matches on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden courts today, including names like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev, Jessica Pegula and more. And everyone on court will be trying to live up to one of the greatest matches this tournament has ever seen between Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper late Wednesday night.

It's a big day so follow along as our team reports on all the action on and off the court Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.

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3:01 pm PT

Linda Noskova, who knocked out Alexandra Eala last round, moves into 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.

2:40 pm PT

Steady and unstoppable, Jannik Sinner ousts Learner Tien, the last American in the field

Playing tennis against Sinner probably feels like you're in a James Bond movie in one of the rooms where the walls are slowly closing in on you. He seems inevitable and unstoppable as he slowly goes about the business of crushing you.

Sinner dispatched Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 in Thursday's quarterfinal. Tien was the final American man standing in this year's event as only Taylor Fritz in 2022 has won here as an American in the last 25 years.

For all his success, Sinner has not won a title in Indian Wells. He'll look to take the next step on Saturday in a semifinal against Alexander Zverev. The seeds have held in this half of the draw as No. 2 Sinner and No. 4 Zverev both made it through the brackets they were supposed to.

1:45 pm PT

Tennis truly a global game as 14 different countries represented among 16 quarterfinalists

The outdoor stadiums at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden are lined with flags from all the countries represented by players in this year's tournament. It's fascinating to see that of the 16 remaining singles players 14 different countries are represented. Here's the breakdown.

TWO PLAYERS

United States:Learner Tien, Jessica Pegula

Great Britain: Jack Draper, Cam Norrie

ONE PLAYER

Australia:Talia Gibson

Belarus: Aryna Sabalenka

Canada: Victoria Mboko

Czechia:Linda Noskova

France:Arthur Fils

Germany:Alxander Zverev

Italy: Jannik Sinner

Kazakhstan:Elena Rybakina

Poland:Iga Swiatek

Russia:Daniil Medvedev

Spain: Carlos Alcaraz

Ukraine:Elina Svitolina

1:08 pm PT

Aryna Sabalenka tops Victoria Mboko to grab semifinal spot at Indian Wells

All signs point to Victria Mboko being a future star on the women's tour, but Aryna Sabalenka is currently the brightest star, and that shone through in a hard-fought quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, 7-6(0), 6-4.

The first set was as close as possible, right up until the tiebreak. Sabalenka had a dominating 7-0 tiebreaker win over the talented 19-year-old Canadian. Sabalenka is now a remarkable 28-3 in tiebreakers since start of last year.

There was only one break in the match between two of the hardest servers in the game and that went to Sabalenka in the second set and that was it.

She will face either Linda Noskova or Australian qualifier Talia Gibson in the semifinals as that part of the bracket has opened up for Sabalenka, who you may have heardgot engaged during this event.

12:48 pm PT

Alexander Zverev makes first Indian Wells semifinal with convincing win over Arthur Fils

The first ticket to the BNP Paribas Open semifinals has been punched and the holder of it is Alexander Zverev of Germany, the No. 4 seed. He took down 30th-seeded Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-3.

Despite being a mainstay near the top of the men's rankings, this is surprisingly the first time Zverev has made the semifinal at Indian Wells. It was the final Masters 1000 tournament that he hadn't made the final four in so he can tick that off his list.

He broke Fils in the first game and never looked back.

"Being up a break when you're playing a great player allows you to play with confidence more easily, and I think that helped today," Zverev said.

He will now face the winner of a match between Jannik Sinner and Learner Tien in Saturday's semifinal. Perhaps he'll play golf in between. He's been playing a lot here in the desert including one famous threesome with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic last Sunday. Fore!

11:02 am PT

We HAVE to look back at a wild Wednesday in Indian Wells including that Draper, Djokovic match

Our tennis reporter Andrew John was on site Wednesday and he saw one of the best matches we've seen here in decades, a thriller between Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper.

There's no doubt it will be in his nightly recap video of the three things that caught his eye on Wednesday. Check it out.

10:35 am PT

Today's schedule includes Alcaraz, Sinner, Sabalenka, Swiatek in action

Every single singles player remaining in the field is in action at Indian Wells today as all eight quarterfinals are lined up for an amazing day for tennis fans. It starts with the world's No. 1 women's player in Aryna Sabalenka and ends with the No. 1 men's player in Carlos Alcaraz. Here is the great slate of eight.

11 a.m.:Aryna Sabalenka vs. Victoria Mboko

11 a.m.:Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev

1 p.m.:Learner Tien vs. Jannik Sinner

1 p.m.:Linda Novoska vs. Talia Gibson

2:30 p.m.: Iga Swiatek vs. Elina Svitolina

5 p.m.:Jessica Pegula vs. Elena Rybakina

5 p.m.:Jack Draper vs. Daniil Medvedev

7 p.m.:Carlos Alcaraz vs. Cam Norrie

10:27 am PT

Did you know the BNP Paribas Open has a signature drink? We tried it

Our intrepid reporter Tom Coulter had one of the cocktail artists on the grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden whip up their patented green concoction known as the Drop Shot.

They share what ingredients are in the tasty beverage. Well, almost all the ingredients. Take a look.

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