INDIAN WELLS, California: Carlos Alcaraz's bid for a third straight Indian Wells title was brought to a halt on Saturday by Daniil Medvedev, who swept past the world number one 6-3 7-6(3) to set up a final against Jannik Sinner after the Italian brushed aside Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-4.
Medvedev, who ended Alcaraz's 16-match winning streak to start the season, won six points in a row in the tiebreak before serving an ace to close out the match.
The Russian played smartly to break Alcaraz early and take a 3-1 lead, never relinquishing his advantage to claim the opening set.
The second set was a far more dramatic affair as Alcaraz stepped up a gear to break Medvedev and surge to a 3-1 lead, only for the 30-year-old Russian to dig deep and level at 3-3, taking advantage of the Spaniard's unforced errors.
The pair traded blows to reach the tiebreak, where a ruthless Medvedev sealed his place in the final.
"Playing someone like Carlos, you play many times, you lose many times," he said. "He's an amazing player with amazing shots, defence, attack, return, everything. So, you need to be at your best."
Earlier in the day, Sinner dismissed fourth seeded Zverev to reach his first Indian Wells final, the world number two firing eight aces and committing just 13 unforced errors, eight fewer than his opponent, while winning seven of his eight net points.
Zverev showed early promise, grabbing a foothold in the opening set, but Sinner broke twice to close it out before breaking again at 4-3 in the second to seal the match.
The 24-year old has not dropped a set throughout the tournament, a run of dominance that underlines his growing supremacy on hard courts.
"It’s a great achievement. The first time here in the final, it means a lot to me,” Sinner said.
"The third time that I’ve played the semis here ... It was a great performance from my side. Sascha didn’t play very well today. I broke him a couple of times in the first set, which gave me confidence to continue, and I served very well at important moments."
Sinner is now seeking to complete the set of all six hard-court Masters 1000 titles having already won the events in Toronto in 2023, Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai in 2024 and Paris last year. — Reuters
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