Daniil Medvedev: ‘Looking forward to more tennis matches like this’ | ATP Tour

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Medvedev: “Looking forward to more tennis matches like this”

Sinner praises Medvedev after Indian Wells final

March 16, 2026

There’s a lot to be proud of in Daniil Medvedev’s performance at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 30-year-old leaves California with an ATP Tour-leading 18 wins, including a semifinal upset over world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who started the season on a perfect 16-match winning streak.

Medvedev left the ATP Masters 1000 event feeling confident despite falling short of his first Indian Wells title in two sets against Jannik Sinner.

“A great match, high level, even today,” Medvedev said at a news conference on Sunday. “Of course, I’m a little disappointed because I didn’t have some moments where I could have played better. Jannik is a great player and difficult to play against.

“Overall, I’m happy with the week and looking forward to more tennis like this.”

Medvedev returned to the top ten of the PIF ATP rankings for the first time since July, making a strong recovery. He started the new season with a win in Brisbane and returned to the winner’s circle in Dubai before arriving in Indian Wells.

Medvedev’s rival Sinner, who won the final without breaking the 11th seed’s serve, praised his ATP No.1 club member’s return to form.

“I think he plays very, very good tennis,” Sinner said of Medvedev. “He’s very confident, he’s won a few championships this year and came here and performed very, very well. He was playing great and serving well. It was difficult for me to return the serve, especially on the second serve.

“I do believe tennis needs him. He has a very unique style of play. It’s great to see him back at this level. He’s improved a lot. Very aggressive player in the final stages. He has two different styles of play when he’s serving and when he’s returning serve. So you have to deal with that. To have him at this level again is great for the sport.”

Sinner isn’t the only ATP Tour star to praise Medvedev’s revamped form. “I’ve never seen Daniel play like this,” the Spaniard said after the former world number one defeated Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

Medvedev aims to become the first player since Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals to defeat Alcaraz and Sinner in the same event. Medvedev recognizes the challenge of beating two of the most dominant players on tour.

“I’m happy that I played well enough in this tournament, first beating everyone else, then even Carlos and then facing Yannick,” Medvedev said. “That will be my goal, not to focus too much on them but to focus on improving myself, improving my game and trying to beat all the other guys.

“Then every time you have Carlos and Yannick in a tournament, there’s a good chance you’re going to meet one of them in the semifinals, and if you play unbelievable, you’re going to meet one of them in the final. So that’s a goal and that’s what I’m trying to keep doing.”

Looking back on the past two games, Medvedev admitted the emotion of beating Alcaraz contrasted with the sting of Sunday’s defeat.

“Beating Carlos yesterday felt like a tournament victory, especially for me. I lost a lot to him,” Medvedev said. “But it wasn’t like that. There was still a final to play. I had a chance, a small chance in the first set. There was a bigger chance in the tie-break in the second set. But at the same time, my lead throughout the set was not big.

“That’s what it is. It’s like a bittersweet feeling, it feels good to do what I did this week.”