Croatian young gun Borna Coric has battled back from 4-2 down in the third set to fell world No.9 Kevin Anderson 2-6 6-4 7-6(3) and advance to the men’s semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open.

The upset victory at Indian Wells on Thursday means the 21-year-old will play in his first Masters 1000 semi-final against either top seed Roger Federer or South Koean Chung Hyeon, who face off at 1pm on Friday (AEDT).

The unseeded Coric initially looked outgunned by the big-serving South African, who had won all three of their previous meetings without dropping a set.

But after weathering an onslaught of huge serves from Anderson in the first set, a scrappy Coric was able to force longer rallies in the second and third.

The match in the California desert appeared all but over when Coric double-faulted to hand Anderson a break for the 4-2 lead in the decisive third set but the world No.49 broke straight back and went on to force a tie-breaker.

Anderson played a mistake-riddled breaker and Coric pumped his fist in triumph after the seventh seed sent a forehand long to hand the Croatian the biggest win of his career.