Sinner defeats Medvedev in an epic fashion and makes history at Indian Wells
The Italian tennis player struggled a lot to win his first title of 2026 and become the youngest player to win all the major tournaments on hard courts.
The final of the 2026 Indian Wells Masters 1000 between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner has been the live representation of the word equality. Both tennis players have shown why they are two of the greatest specialists on fast courts, starring in a vibrant match that was decided by details. The victory went to the tennis player with a 7-6(6) and 7-6(5) score after 1 hour and 55 minutes of play.
The match had no service breaks and displayed the solidity of both players. Medvedev played at a very similar level to when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals yesterday. However, the level of the ATP ranking number two was near excellence, securing the title with an epic comeback in the second set tie break. This win erases doubts in his game and earns him his first title of 2026.
Sinner takes the first set with maximum equality
The match began with Medvedev playing similarly to his previous match against Carlos Alcaraz, confidently striking every ball and being solid from the baseline. The Russian player lined up perfectly in each rally, while Sinner held his ground to maintain equality on the scoreboard. The main issue for the Italian player arose when trying to play backhand to backhand with Daniil, unable to cause any harm.
Even though Medvedev was the first to have two 0-30 opportunities on Sinner's serve, the first break points favored Sinner at 3-3. Yet, the Russian player displayed great courage to...continues
Sinner stages an epic comeback against Medvedev in another tie break
In the second set, Sinner seemed to have an extra gear compared to Medvedev, who was mentally affected by the first set where the slightest mistake cost him despite near-perfect play. That's the challenge when facing someone like Jannik. Nonetheless, similar to what the Italian player did in the first set, Daniil slowly regained his best form to navigate through each moment of difficulty.
Mirroring the first set, service breaks were absent. Both Sinner and Medvedev didn't falter with their serves, ramping up the pressure when needed to address any doubts in tense moments. It was a remarkably solid performance from both sides, where each error was scrutinized and could be decisive for the outcome of the match. Yet, these errors did not occur from either player, leading to another tie break deciding the second set.
If the first set tie break had no mini breaks, the second was marked by Daniil's impressive performance, initially taking a 4-0 lead due to several errors from Sinner. However, Jannik corrected his mistakes, recovering from the deficit to go up 5-4. In that moment, Medvedev pushed hard, but Jannik used his magic to secure the match point. With another strong return, another shot from the Italian player ended the match.
After suffering two tough losses at the Australian Open and ATP Doha to Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik, Sinner proved from the start in Indian Wells that he had returned to form. Changes in his game are bearing fruit, and despite Medvedev playing his best tennis, it wasn't enough. This win grants the Italian player 1,000 ranking points to inch closer to Carlos Alcaraz in the battle for number one, also restoring lost confidence.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner gana a Medvedev de manera épica y hace historia en Indian Wells