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Carlos Alcaraz - Indian Wells 2023
ATP Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

Daniil Medvedev admits he will have to be ’11 out of 10′ to beat Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells final rematch


Daniil Medvedev has set up a rematch of last year’s Indian Wells final, as he looks to enact revenge over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Medvedev beat 17th seed Tommy Paul, 1-6 7-6(3) 6-2, last night in California and was full of praise for his American opponent after the match.

“Tommy just showed everyone how to beat me, how to play on the lines, full power,” claimed Medvedev. “He was playing pretty unbelievable, and I didn’t know what to do, so the only thing I could do was try to continue to search for solutions.

“I also played good, but he had a little bit of a down moment at the beginning of the second set, which gave me some confidence and some time to see more of what I can do. I’m happy in the end I managed to find solutions and break through his excellent game.”

Last year, Alcaraz beat Medvedev in a convincing straight sets victory to claim the Indian Wells title, but the Russian does have the most recent victory in their head-to-head on outdoor hard courts.

And Medvedev has suggested that he will take inspiration from his US Open semi-final victory over Alcaraz, “I know if I want to win I have to give my all, 11 out of 10, 20 out of 10, whatever. That’s the way I entered the match with Carlos in the US Open.

“I still feel this way, especially on this court. I think today (Saturday) he showed exactly why I personally think this court suits him perfectly. Little slow bounce from time to time to give him time, and he doesn’t care about the wind here and that the ball doesn’t travel through the air. If I want to win, I will try to see what can I do tactically.”

The 28-year-old added, “I saw Carlos today, he was playing pretty well, second and third set especially. I know what happened last year so I’m going to try my best to try to turn this around, to play better, to play stronger, more on the lines, hit more aces, stuff like this. Hopefully I will be able to do it. I will recover and get ready for the fight tomorrow.”

Medvedev will look to prevent Alcaraz from becoming the first man to defend the Indian Wells singles title since Novak Djokovic in 2016 this evening.

Inside the baseline…

Daniil Medvedev on hard courts is an undeniable force, and he will be incredibly hungry to avenge last year’s defeat in what was a very lacklustre Indian Wells final. The world No.4 is not wrong about having to be at his best to beat Carlos Alcaraz, who appears to be hitting top form this week in California. Regardless of the outcome, it seems likely that the final this year will be much tighter than last.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz ends ‘predictable’ Jannik Sinner’s winning streak to reach Indian Wells final

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.