Daniil Medvedev did the unthinkable last night, stopping Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible winning streak to reach the Indian Wells final.
Ahead of their match, few gave the Russian a chance, naturally expecting yet another meeting between the Spaniard and his great rival, Jannik Sinner.
Alas, Daniil Medvedev was on hand to spoil the party, and has since praised both of the top-two ranked players whilst also explaining his new mindset when trying to tackle them.
Daniil Medvedev claims Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are ‘much better’ than him
Despite such an impressive and emphatic victory over the world number one, Medvedev remained calm and measured in his post-match analysis.
Asked whether this win meant that he had proven that Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner are not untouchable, he admitted: “No, I don’t care too much about the things, because I’m already, first of all, a bit too old.”
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Medvedev then reflected on his tough 2025 campaign, and explained why, despite the odds being against him every time he plays the seven-time Grand Slam champion, he remains hopeful.
The 30-year-old claimed: “I had a tough year last year, so even more perspective now I need to do my best, and that’s kind of it, because Jannik and Carlos, far better than all of us you mentioned. Only one match we can beat them. Sascha was serving for the match in Australia, and you never know what would happen in the final if he won.
| Year | Tournament | Round | Winner |
| 2024 (their last match) | ATP Finals | Round Robin | Jannik Sinner |
| 2024 | Shanghai Masters | Quarter-final | Jannik Sinner |
| 2024 | US Open | Quarter-final | Jannik Sinner |
| 2024 | Wimbledon | Quarter-final | Daniil Medvedev |
| 2024 | Miami Open | Semi-final | Jannik Sinner |
“It’s more about one match on a long-term career or season. I mean, they are so good, they are so much better than us. And Djokovic, Federer, Nadal were so much better than us.
“But Djokovic, Nadal, and Jannik and Carlos are probably also better than all the ones that were there before. And they would struggle against them. It is what it is.
“As I said on the court, maybe I play 10 matches against Carlos, probably I’m going to lose more than I’m gonna win. But whenever I go on court, I need to believe in myself, I need to do my best, and try to win as much as I can.”
Daniil Medvedev can spoil Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s party
Medvedev, facing Jannik Sinner later today in the Indian Wells final, bids to become just the second person in history to defeat both him and Alcaraz in the same tournament.
The last was Novak Djokovic, who did so at the 2023 ATP Finals.
It will be an almighty task, but Medvedev has arguably already achieved the toughest part of that feat by ending Alcaraz’s 16-match win streak.
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Asked about how it feels to perhaps play the villain by beating the world’s best, he argued: “No, today, I mean, in a way where we speak about Carlos, No. 1 in the world, his winning streak, et cetera, maybe. But I think I was completely normal today. I mean, just playing my game. He was actually trying more to get the crowd and stuff like this, because, well, he needed it (smiling).
“It’s fun to play against Carlos, some fun points. I think I lost one where he made this crazy forehand. I won two maybe where I made him run a lot and he was always there, but then I managed to win.
“So it’s a lot of fun to play him. Look, I’m just trying to play my game and to do my best.”
