The win snapped the world number one’s 16-match winning streak and set up a final against Jannik Sinner, who earlier beat Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-4. Medvedev, the recent Dubai champion, pushed his own form to new heights and will contest his third Indian Wells final.
Alcaraz arrived in California as the two-time defending champion and fresh off his Australian Open title, where he became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. He added the Qatar Open trophy and carried a flawless 16-0 record into the semi-final. But Medvedev, playing with precision from the baseline and strong serving, never let the 22-year-old Spaniard settle.
The Russian needed just one break to take the opening set. In the second, Alcaraz broke first for a 3-1 lead. Medvedev answered immediately. At 4-5, Alcaraz held two set points on Medvedev’s serve, yet the 30-year-old saved both with clean serving and forced errors. The tie-break followed, and Medvedev dominated it, racing to a 6-1 lead before sealing the match with his fourth ace of the day on a 123 mph serve.
Medvedev’s aggressive play left Alcaraz on the defensive throughout. One extended rally in the ninth game of the second set had the Spaniard gasping for air. Earlier, Alcaraz briefly paused play in the first set when his shoe came off mid-rally at 1-4, 0-30, drawing cheers from the 16,000-strong crowd. He responded with a highlight-reel forehand winner later in the set, but Medvedev stayed composed and closed out the frame.
This result marked Medvedev’s first win over a reigning world number one since beating Sinner at Wimbledon in 2024. It was also his eighth career victory against a top-ranked player. He had lost the Indian Wells final to Alcaraz in both 2023 and 2024 without taking a set.
“Carlos is an outstanding player, it’s very tough to play against him and I lost to him many times,” Medvedev said on court. “And to be honest, probably I will play many more times against him and lose many more. Every time I step on court I need to believe I can win. It’s a bit faster court than the two previous times, so it gave me more chances on my serve. To beat someone like Carlos, especially with the season that he was having, is a great feeling.”
He added: “I think I was serving great in general. The serve saved me a couple of times, and he’s one of the best returners on tour. I was a bit disappointed not to close it out on his serve, but making an ace was a good feeling.”
Alcaraz gave full credit to his opponent afterward. “I just have to give credit to Daniil. I think he just played an amazing match,” he said. “Since the start of the match until the end of the match, he was playing unreal. I have never seen, to be honest, Daniil playing like this. How aggressive he played all the time, I think that surprised me a little bit. He was playing aggressive, and he didn’t even miss. So it was tricky. He deserves completely the win today.”
The Spaniard reflected on his own mindset: “I’m just a little bit disappointed right now. But at the same time, I have to see the good things about this loss. I’m not thinking about ‘I need to win’ or ‘I have to win’. It’s just about chasing my goals.” Alcaraz leaves Indian Wells with a 16-1 record for the year. Medvedev improved to 18 wins in 2026 and extended his current streak to 10 matches. He has not dropped a set in the tournament.
In the first semi-final, Sinner delivered a clinical performance to reach his first Indian Wells final. The Italian broke Zverev early and maintained control, finishing in 83 minutes. “Third time lucky, I guess,” Sinner told the crowd afterward. He stands at 15-3 lifetime at the event and will bid to become the first Italian men’s champion here.
Sunday’s final pits two players who have yet to drop a set this fortnight. Medvedev holds an 8-7 head-to-head edge over Sinner but lost their most recent meeting at the 2024 ATP Finals. Medvedev now aims for his third title of the season after Brisbane and Dubai. The match will decide the first Masters 1000 champion of 2026 on hard courts.
