Article by David Istrate – Published Monday, March 16, 2026, 12:15 / Updated Monday, March 16, 2026 12:17
Jannik Sinner (24 years old, 2 ATP) won the first title of this year on Sunday, March 15, beating Daniil Medvedev (30 years old, 10 WTA) in the Indian Wells final, score 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4). After the victory in California, the Italian praised a fellow countryman, Kimi Antonelli (19), who won the first Formula 1 race of his career.
After stopping in the penultimate act at the Australian Open, defeated by Novak Djokovic, and in the “quarters” in Doha, beaten by Jakub Mensik, Jannik Sinner raised his level, performed excellently at Indian Wells and won the first title of his career at this tournament.
Daniil Medvedev, who had been beaten by Carlos Alcaraz (22, 1 ATP) in the semi-finals, failed to pull off another surprise, although he offered a solid reply against Sinner. The 24-year-old tennis player kept his composure in the two tiebreaks and triumphed 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4).
Jannik Sinner is a fan of Kimi Antonelli: “Thank you, Kimi, thank you, Formula 1”
A day before the final, after qualifying in the last act, Sinner was unsure whether he would watch the Chinese Grand Prix, where Kimi Antonelli, his compatriot, was going to start from pole position.
The Mercedes driver took advantage of the excellent position on the starting grid, drove excellently, overcame a good start by the Ferrari drivers, and won the first Formula 1 race of his career.
Second place went to his teammate George Russell, while the next two positions went to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Kimi Antonelli won the Chinese Grand Prix // photo: Guliver/gettyimages
After winning the Indian Wells title, Sinner wanted to send a message to Antonelli, who was extremely emotional after the win in China.
“It has nothing to do with tennis, but it was a special day for Italy. I'm a huge F1 fan and it's great to have a very, very young Italian in Kimi who has brought Italy back to the top. So thank you, Kimi, thank you, Formula 1, and see you next year”, said the world number 2, as quoted by ESPN.
