Vinay Kumar
Daniil Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz’s perfect start to 2026, defeating the world number one 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) on Saturday to book an Indian Wells Open title clash with Jannik Sinner. Medvedev avenged defeats to Alcaraz in back-to-back Indian Wells finals in 2023 and 2024, relying on a strong service display and aggressive baseline play to keep the Spanish star under pressure throughout the match.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Super happy to beat someone as strong as he (is),” Medvedev said. “It’s a great feeling.”
He will face a tough challenge in Sunday’s final against four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, who defeated fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-4.Alcaraz, 22, became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. He followed that with a title in Qatar Open and carried a 16-0 record in 2026 into Saturday’s contest.But Medvedev rose to the challenge. The recent Dubai Tennis Championships winner pushed Alcaraz to the limit in the intense desert heat, extending his own ATP winning streak to nine matches.“I just felt like the long rallies, especially when you play against Daniil, that the rallies are long, that you have to increase all the power in almost every shot,” Alcaraz said.“So it feels like you’re wasting extra energy after every shot. And with the heat, sometimes it’s really tricky to deal with all of that.”After Medvedev needed just one break of serve to claim the opening set — in which he did not face a single break point — Alcaraz made adjustments and broke first in the second set to take a 3-1 lead.However, Medvedev responded immediately with a break of his own, and his control in the rallies left Alcaraz gasping after a long exchange in the ninth game.“The first set … he just made it that I had to struggle a little bit,” Alcaraz said. “In the second set, I started to feel much better. I realized what I have to do. I realized that I have to suffer, and I accept it.”Alcaraz held serve for a 5-4 lead in the second set but failed to convert two set points in the following game, sending the match into a tiebreaker that Medvedev dominated.“He was playing aggressive, and he didn’t even miss,” Alcaraz said of Medvedev, who raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker to secure his third shot at the title.“He’s an amazing player with amazing shots, defense, attack, serve, return, everything,” Medvedev said. “So you need to be at your best — and I was.”High levelMedvedev’s resurgence, following a disappointing 2025 season in which he dropped as low as 18th in the world rankings, has also caught Sinner’s attention.“He’s back to very, very high level, very big serve. He’s returning very well, very deep,” Sinner said of the 2021 US Open champion.The Italian was pleased to finally reach the final after losing to Alcaraz in the semifinals in both 2023 and 2024.He was equally satisfied with his performance in securing a sixth consecutive victory over Zverev, the world number four from Germany.“It was a great performance – very solid from the back of the court,” said Sinner, who saved the only break point he faced in a commanding display of precision and power.Zverev began strongly with two flawless service games before his level dipped.Sinner broke him twice as the German’s errors increased, leaving Zverev visibly frustrated after Sinner claimed the opening set.Zverev regained some momentum after saving three break points in the first game of the second set, but Sinner held firm — saving a break point with an ace in the sixth game before breaking Zverev in the next game to seal the decisive advantage.
