Athletistic/Tennis. On the night of March 18 Moscow time, the exciting Masters final took place in Indian Wells. The title was played by the Russian Daniil Medvedev and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

For Medvedev, this final was the second of the season (after the lost Australian Open) and the 38th of his career.

Medvedev entered the match better than Alcaraz. In the first game, the Russian broke his serve and in the second, taking advantage of the Spaniard’s errors, he made a break – 2:0. However, Daniil then lost his advantage. What followed was a tiebreaker, where Alcaraz was stronger. In the second match, Alcaraz immediately took the lead and eventually won a crushing victory – 6: 1. Tennis players played 1 hour 43 minutes. Alcaraz wins his first title of the season and the 13th of his career. The Spaniard defended his title at Indian Wells and won the Masters Series tournament for the fifth time. This is his first title since Wimbledon 2023.

Carlos became the second player in history to win five Masters before turning 21, after Rafael Nadal. Medvedev lost his fifth consecutive final: US Open 2023, Beijing 2023, Vienna 2023, Australian Open 2024 and now Indian Wells.

After the match, Medvedev admitted that Alcaraz played better than him.

“Alcaraz improved in the first set. I led with a break, but in Indian Wells, the serve is not a weapon where, after losing your serve, you can think that you have done something wrong. ‘irreparable. Alcaraz is very difficult to play because he and Sinner can send the ball in such a way that it flies quickly from start to finish, so it was difficult, I didn’t manage it, I probably could have play better.

It was a little disappointing in the tie-break. With the score 5:5 he tried his luck on his second serve and hit the line, it was a bad bounce and I didn’t even see how much I missed. In the second set I tried, but he just played better. Next time we will have to try harder. He played better even on serve and I had nothing to oppose him,” Medvedev said.

The Russian also emphasized that Indian Wells is a very difficult tournament for him.

“Indian Wells for me in terms of tennis is a very difficult tournament. And not only for me – many athletes complain that it is difficult to play here. But I played here against uncomfortable opponents, I reached the final – in principle, everything is positive.

However, if I want to win tournaments, I have to beat Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz. Let’s see what the court looks like this year in Miami, last year it was very cool and very fast. Let’s see if I can show something there this year, ”said Russia’s first racket.

The president of the Russian Tennis Federation (RFF), Shamil Tarpishchev, believes that Medvedev played normally at the Masters in Indian Wells (United States).

“Medvedev’s performance was completely normal. Several factors influenced the defeat against Alcaraz. Firstly, Medvedev was not fresh for the final as he spent more time on the tennis court. And secondly, Alcaraz was superior to Daniil on the first serve. For the second set, Medvedev was simply not enough. Alcaraz was more mobile and faster. Tactically, Medvedev played with competence and rigor, he could have won the first set if he had held his service after a break. In principle, Medvedev played decently, defended the points for the final. The tournament in Indian Wells “, of course, is important, but it comes at the time when the players are getting in shape. They don’t make it the main tournament to be sure of winning,” Tarpishchev stressed.

Medvedev will now try to defend his title at the next tournament – the Masters in Miami (USA). The competition will take place from March 20 to 31. Medvedev won in Miami in 2023.

At the start of the tournament, third-seeded Medvedev will play the winner of the match between Max Purcell (Australia) and Marton Fucsovics (Hungary). The leader of the ranking was the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

Andrey Andreev, Sport.Ru



Athletistic