Alcaraz’s unbeaten run ends in Indian Wells semi-final loss to Medvedev

2026-03-15 - 00:44

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in action during the men’s singles semi-final match on Day 11 of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. (Getty Images/AFP pic) INDIAN WELLS: Daniil Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz’s perfect start to 2026, stunning the world number one 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) Saturday to book an Indian Wells title clash with Jannik Sinner. The 22-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with his Australian Open triumph this year. He followed with a title in Qatar and took a 16-0 record into Saturday’s semi-final. But Medvedev was up to the challenge, last month’s Dubai champion running Alcaraz ragged as he pushed his own ATP win streak to nine matches with an impressive victory. Former world number one Medvedev’s aggressive play from the baseline and superb serving performance had Alcaraz on the back foot throughout, his control in the rallies leaving Alcaraz gasping after one long point in the ninth game of the second set. Alcaraz went on to hold serve in that game, but Medvedev saved a pair of set points in the next and dominated the tiebreaker to reach the Indian Wells final for a third time. The 30-year-old lost to Alcaraz in the title match in both 2023 and 2024.