Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev sets records by beating Carlos Alcaraz
What's the story
Daniil Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz's unbeaten streak this season with a straight-set win in the 2026 Indian Wells semi-finals Saturday. The Russian tennis star won the match 6-3, 7-6 (3) to advance to his 11th ATP Masters 1000 final. Alcaraz entered the semi-final with an incredible 16-match winning streak. He was coming off titles in Doha and the Australian Open. The Spaniard had beaten Medvedev in the 2023 and 2024 Indian Wells finals.
Match highlights
A look at the match summary
Medvedev employed a combination of aggressive baseline play and effective serving to dictate the match. He broke early in the first set and held on to his lead, winning it 6-3. The second set was more competitive as Alcaraz upped his game and broke Medvedev early for a 3-1 lead. Facing two set points at 4-5, the Russian quickly countered, capitalizing on some unforced errors from Alcaraz. The tie-break eventually fell in Medvedev's favor.
Feats
Medvedev attains these feats
According to Opta, this was Medvedev's 239th hard-court win since 2020. Jannik Sinner is the only other player with 200-plus wins in this regard. Notably, Medvedev reached a Masters 1000 final without dropping a set for the third time after Montreal and Shanghai in 2019. He is also the first player to beat the reigning champion and the ATP No. 1 at a Masters 1000 event in four years.
Final
Medvedev ends Alcaraz's streak, to face Sinner
As mentioned, Alcaraz won each of his last 16 matches before the Indian Wells semis. He scripted history after beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final and Arthur Fils in the Doha final. Meanwhile, the win extended Medvedev's own winning streak to nine matches after his title win in Dubai last month. Medvedev will now face Sinner in the final. The Italian's beat Alexander Zverev in his semi-final.
Information
Medvedev's third win over Alcaraz
Before this match, Medvedev last beat Alcaraz in the 2023 ATP Finals. Between 2023 and 2026, the Spaniard defeated Medvedev in four successive matches. Overall, the head-to-head record is still in favor of Alcaraz (6-3).