Daniil Medvedev inflicted Carlos Alcaraz’s first loss of the year and advanced to the final at Indian Wells with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over the No 1 seed Saturday.
The Russian No 11 seed will now face Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the final after the world No 2 beat Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-4.
Spanish superstar Alcaraz had won 16 straight matches this year, a run that included titles at the Australian Open and Qatar Open.
But Medvedev ended the possibility of yet another Alcaraz vs. Sinner final with victory in California.
Pop superstar Dua Lipa was among those in the crowd on Saturday and a clip of the singer – looking distinctly unimpressed as Alcaraz struggled early on – went viral on social media.
Medvedev had dropped his last four meetings against Alcaraz, including a loss in the Indian Wells final in 2024. This was his first win over the Spaniard since the US Open semifinals in 2023.
Daniil Medvedev inflicted Carlos Alcaraz’s first loss of 2026 and reached the Indian Wells final
Alcaraz had won 16 straight matches in 2026, a run that included victory at the Australian Open
‘Playing someone like Carlos, you play many times… you lose many times,’ Medvedev said afterwards.
‘He’s an amazing player. You need to be at your best… and I was. I’m super happy to beat someone as strong as him.’
Sinner made quick work of Zverev in the other semifinal, securing victory in 1 hour and 23 minutes. Sinner notched six aces against the No 4 seed.
The Italian broke Zverev in both the fifth and seventh games to secure the first set. Sinner now leads the head-to-head series against Zverev 7-4.
In the women’s doubles final, meanwhile, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova beat Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4.
The victory marked Townsend’s first at Indian Wells and Siniakova’s second – she also won in 2023 alongside longtime partner Barbora Krejcikova.
