Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Sunday, March 15, 2026, 08:57 / Updated Sunday, March 15, 2026 09:09
Big surprise at Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev (30 years old, 11th ATP) eliminated Carlos Alcaraz (22 years old, #1 ATP) and will face Jannik Sinner (#2 ATP) in the final.
The Indian Wells semifinals pitted Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one and the competition's No. 1 favorite, against Daniil Medvedev, a two-time finalist in 2023 and 2024 at the Californian tournament.
Alcaraz was leaving with the first chance, especially since he had defeated Medvedev in the previous 4 “straight”, but today he was beaten in two sets, after just over an hour and a half of play.
Carlos Alcaraz suffered his first defeat of the year! Eliminated by Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells
Balanced at the start, the first set broke at 1-2 when Medvedev broke Alcaraz's serve and managed the only break of the act.
Medvedev was inspired with his moves to the net and especially on his second serve, where he had an 82% percentage of points won.
To a certain point, the second set unfolded in the mirror. At 2-1, this time for Alcaraz, the Iberian managed the break and broke away. But Medvedev had the strength to immediately recover that break, saved two set points at 4-5 and took the set to a tie-break, where he won with his third match point at 3.
It was Alcaraz's first defeat in 2026, one after which he kept applauding Medvedev's performance.
Carlos Alcaraz: “I've never seen Daniil play like this!”
“I just have to give credit to Daniil. I think he played an incredible game. From the beginning to the end of the game, he played unreal, I have to admit. To be honest, I have never seen Daniil play like this.
They fully deserve today's win. They fully deserve to qualify and play the final here. All I can say is congratulations,” reacted Alcaraz, whose 16-game winning streak was halted.
In the final scheduled for Sunday evening, Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner for his first Indian Wells triumph.
