Indian Wells: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Daniil Medvedev, a final with the number 1 ranking at stake

The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz and the russian Daniil Medvedev They will play the final of the Masters 1000 de Indian Wells. The young Iberian talent left the Russian on the way Jannik Sinner by 7-6 (4) and 6-3, while Medvedev beat the American Francis Tiafoe by 7-5 and 7-6 (4). If Spanish prevails, will recover the number one in the world, which for now is held by the Serbian Novak Djokovic, absent in California for his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Daniil Medvedev does not stop and is determined to rewrite your own history. The Russian, number 6 in the world ranking, got rid of a rocky rival like Tiafoe and reached his first Indian Wells final. In addition, he added his nineteenth consecutive victory, which speaks of his great performance in recent months. He has not lost since the third round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. The last executioner of him was the American Sebastian Korda. And he only registered two defeats in the year: the other was in the semifinals of the ATP 250 in Adelaide (Australia), against the Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz and Sinner, stick to stick

Medvedev displayed the entire arsenal of blows before the eyes of the singer Pink and the legendary Rod Laver, both in the boxes of the court. From an ace to take the game in the tie-break of the second set to a miraculous passing-shot in the first set. Despite the tightness of the score, the Russian was better in the decisive instances and had to appeal to the best of his repertoire to get rid of a rocky rival like Tiafoe, who saved seven match-points. Despite staying at the door of his first Masters 1000 final, Tiafoe will return on Monday to his best historical position in the world ranking. Thanks to his performance in Indian Wells, he will appear fourteenth.

“It was crazy. I got very tense when I saw that I was losing so many opportunities. I thought: ‘This is not going to go well for me,’ Medvedev said after the game. “But I kept playing well. I am very happy that I did not lose this match, ”he assured. This edition of Indian Wells had everything for the Russian: from his complaints about the slowness of the court to the ankle injury in the fourth round against Alexander Zverev. And even a cut on the right thumb during the match against the Spanish Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina.

Medvedev and the ace that defined the match with Tiafoe

“I’m playing better and better. I would say that when I sprained my ankle I started to play better on this court, but they are still not my favorite conditions to play”, Medvedev reiterated. And about the final this Sunday, he ventured: “Surely there will be nerves, because every time you play a final there are nerves, and the bigger the tournament, the more nerves there are. But I have experience and I know what it feels like. I just have to play my best tennis and try to win”, he assured.

The Russian will face the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz in the decisive match, who can recover the number 1 in the world if he wins and wins the tournament. In the semifinals, the young wonder of the tour defeated Italian Jakub Sinner in straight sets. He had opposition in the first set, when his rival went up 5-4, but Alcaraz recovered and took the set to a tie-break. In the tiebreaker, he ended up prevailing 7-4. In the second set there was no match and everything was made easier for the Spaniard, who won it 6-1. The record between Medvedev and Alcaraz, the two best in the tournament that is played in the Californian desert, registers just one confrontation. It was at Wimbledon 2021, and Medvedev won 6-4, 6-1 and 6-2.

All Medvedev’s talent in one hit

Among the women, Elena Rybakina gave the surprise in the semifinals. With seven aces, she defeated the tournament’s top seed Iga Swiatek. This Sunday she will face Aryna Sabalenka, second favorite of the tournament, winner of the Greek Maria Sakkari by 6-2 and 6-3. “It’s going to be huge. This tournament feels like a Grand Slam. I would really like to lift this trophy as the singles champion,” Sabalenka said.

The match-point that Rybakina made

Swiatek, defending champion, was left on the road after an hour and 16 minutes of a match that had the service of both as the key to its resolution. The Pole barely won 42% of the points with her first serve, while her rival won 82%. “I didn’t expect to play today as well. I had nothing to lose. I just wanted to come enjoy and I played one of the best games of the year,” Rybakina said. The record between Rybakina and Sabalenka, protagonists of the final this Sunday, is 4-0 in favor of the latter, although the match is a guarantee of parity: all the matches between the two tennis players were defined in three sets.

(With information from the AP and AFP agencies).

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