Daniil Medvedev halted Carlos Alcaraz’s bid for a third consecutive Indian Wells Masters title on Saturday, defeating the world number one 6-3, 7-6(3) to book a place in the final against Jannik Sinner.
Medvedev delivered a composed performance to end Alcaraz’s impressive 16-match winning streak to start the season. The Russian controlled the opening set, breaking early to take a 3-1 lead and maintaining the advantage to claim the set 6-3.
The second set proved far more competitive. Alcaraz raised his level to break Medvedev and move ahead 3-1, but the Russian responded by capitalizing on a series of unforced errors from the Spaniard to level the score at 3-3.
Both players held serve to force a tiebreak, where Medvedev seized control. The 30-year-old won six consecutive points before sealing victory with a powerful ace, securing his spot in the tournament final.
“Playing someone like Carlos, you play many times, you lose many times,” Medvedev said after the match. “He’s an amazing player with amazing shots, defense, attack, return, everything. So you need to be at your best.”
Earlier in the day, world number two Jannik Sinner advanced to his first Indian Wells Masters final with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory over fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Sinner produced a clinical display, firing eight aces and committing just 13 unforced errors, significantly fewer than his opponent. The Italian also won seven of his eight points at the net, showcasing his growing dominance on hard courts.
Although Zverev showed early promise in the opening set, Sinner broke serve twice to secure the set before breaking again at 4-3 in the second to close out the match.
“It’s a great achievement. The first time here in the final, it means a lot to me,” Sinner said. “The third time that I’ve played the semis here. It was a great performance from my side.”
Sinner has yet to drop a set throughout the tournament and now aims to capture another major hard-court title. A victory would move him closer to completing the set of all six hard-court Masters 1000 titles, having already claimed titles in Toronto in 2023 and Miami, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris in 2024.