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Carlos Alcaraz's perfect start to 2026 comes crashing down, knocked out of Indian Wells by resurgent Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev has spent a couple of years in the tennis wilderness, seeing his ranking drop and level diminish. A semifinal win that serves as a reminder.
Carlos Alcaraz looked set to extend his 16-match winning streak and perfect start to the 2026 season, but was eliminated from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in California at the hands of Daniil Medvedev in a straight-set shock.
Medvedev, a former world number one who has been struggling to regain his best form and confidence, put together once of his best performances in several months to overcome the erratic Alcaraz 6-3, 7-6 and snap the Spaniard’s unbeaten run at the start of the year.
Alcaraz was the much-fancied player to get through this encounter and set up a first contest of the year against his rival Jannik Sinner in the final, after the Italian had breezed past Alexander Zverev in their own one-sided semifinal.
Alcaraz admits ‘unreal’ Medvedev was a level above
However, a lacklustre start to the match for the 22-year-old saw him failing to find penetration with his groundstrokes while also spraying uncharacteristic errors. Alcaraz’s winning run had been built on a game that could overpower opponents from all areas of the court, but Medvedev was able to find a level close to his best in which he counter-punched with efficiency.
Efficiency was the name of the game for the Russian, who created only two break point opportunities in the match, but ensured he took both his chances to break Alcaraz’s serve. Medvedev, who rose to world number one in 2022, has been inconsistent over the last two-plus years, even leading him to drop out of the world’s top 10 on the ATP Tour.
But the Russian’s success on the day earned him praise from Alcaraz, who was full of credit for Medvedev after their ninth career meeting.
“I just have to give credit to Daniil. I think he just played an amazing match,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “Since the start of the match until the end of the match, he was playing unreal, I’ve got to say. I have never seen, to be honest, Daniil playing like this. He deserves completely the win today. He deserves completely to get through and play a final here. All I can say is just congratulations to him.”
Dominant Sinner in the title clash for Medvedev
Medvedev has certainly looked closer to the top of his game in this fortnight in the desert, not dropping a single set and making his serve look more similar to the potent weapon it was at the peak of his powers. He is also set to re-enter the top 10 regardless of what happens in Sunday’s final against Sinner.
Sinner is looking to complete the set in terms of big titles won on hard courts, which encompasses the Australian and US Open, the ATP Finals, and six different Masters 1000 level events. The Italian and the Russian are set for a first meeting since 2024, with Sinner having won eight of their last nine matches, and looking in ominous form after a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Zverev.
