Daniil Medvedev faced another loss in the championship match of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The Russian faced World No. 2 Jannik Sinner and fought till the very last point, but was unable to put the Italian under pressure. In this straight-sets defeat, Medvedev forced tiebreaks both times, but the Italian’s serving was far more accurate and efficient than his opponent’s.
After the match, the three-time runner-up talked about how he felt about the loss despite beating World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal just one day ago.
Daniil Medvedev Calls His Defeat Against Jannik Sinner a ‘Bittersweet Feeling’
Sinner defeated Medvedev 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in the finals of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on the afternoon of Sunday, March 15. This was the first time the Italian had reached the final at this venue, after semifinal finishes in 2023 and 2024 and missing the tournament last year due to his three-month suspension.
This marked the third career final of the World No. 10 at this venue, where he lost to Alcaraz in the 2023 and 2024 finals. After Aryna Sabalenka lifted the trophy in the women’s singles final, Sinner and Medvedev stepped foot on court to create history, both chasing their first Indian Wells title.
Both players held serve in both sets to force a tiebreak, wherein the first set, the World No. 10 was ahead 5-4, needing just two points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. However, Sinner reeled off to win four of the last five points to take the tiebreak 8-6, and the set 7-6(6).
In the second-set tiebreak, Medvedev was heading for a massive upset with a formidable 4-0 lead, but Sinner then showed why he is the best hard-court player since 2024, winning seven consecutive points to take the match 7-6(6), 7-6(4).
MORE: Daniil Medvedev Finds Silver Lining in Indian Wells Loss by Denying Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
After the defeat, the Russian spoke about his loss in the final after beating the World No. 1, Alcaraz. He compared beating the Spaniard to winning a tournament, since he had lost to him multiple times, but called his loss a “bittersweet feeling.”
“It’s a sweet-bitter feeling, because to beat Carlos yesterday, it feels like a win of the tournament, especially for me. I lost a lot against him,” Medvedev stated during the post-match press conference. However, coming back to his senses and looking at the draw of the tournament, he added,
“But that’s not the reality, there is a final to play. I had my opportunity, small opportunity in the first set. A bit bigger opportunity in the tiebreak in the second. But at the same time, I was hanging by not big margins in the whole set.”
Medvedev concluded by looking on the positive side, talking about the magnificent performance he delivered this fortnight, while mentioning what he could have done against Sinner. “So it is what it is. It’s like a bittersweet feeling where it feels good to do what I did this week. But of course I wanted to try to push him even more, but it’s tough,” he said.
With this win, Sinner is the youngest man ever to win all six ATP Masters 1000 hard-court tournaments, with the Australian Open and the US Open already under his belt, making him a true hard-court specialist.
The Final Between Sinner and Medvedev
Sinner entered the match as the clear favorite, having over 80% chance of beating Medvedev according to PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator. He also had a slight edge over his opponent in the head-to-head record, having previously beaten him eight of the 15 times they played each other.
However, Medvedev evened all the odds and didn’t put his racket down this easily as he kept fighting back, giving Sinner a tough challenge throughout the match. After beating the invincible Alcaraz, the Russian was a bit drained, but it didn’t affect his performance at all.
But the World No. 2’s serving was on another level during the final, as he landed 65% of his first serves and won a whopping 91% of those points. He also had a 60% second serve points won, all while committing just two double faults and landing 10 bullet-like aces.
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Even though Sinner committed more unforced errors than Medvedev (31 compared to 24), he compensated for it by hitting way more winners than his opponent (28 compared to 15). From the very first point, the Italian played aggressively and won all of the net points he played during the match, while winning 53% of the total points of the match.
Despite losing, Medvedev has so much to be proud of, especially following a shaky season last year. Both players will now head to Florida, where they will begin preparations for the 2026 Miami Open, which commences on March 17.
