Medvedev knocks out Alcaraz. Will he finally get that BNP title?

INDIAN WELLS — It isn’t as if Daniil Medvedev is unfamiliar with the territory. Twice before he’s been in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open, although losing both times to Carlos Alcaraz.

But on this 93-degree Saturday afternoon in the California desert, Medvedev defeated the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in a BNP semi. So he will face Jannik Sinner, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Alexander Zverev in the other semi.

Alcaraz, the 23-year-old Spaniard who leads the ATP rankings, had won 16 consecutive matches since a loss at the ATP finals last November. Maybe the number is distorted somewhat because Alcaraz, like many players of his ilk, had most of the winter off. 

But the fact that he had not been defeated cannot be distorted. Nor can the relatively dominant victory by Medvedev, particularly coming two weeks after being forced to ride seven hours while trying to go from Dubai to Turkey, and then eventually by jet to the United States. 

If Alcaraz wasn’t impressed by Medvedev’s forced journey, he was by Medvedev’s tennis in their semi-final today. “Since the start of the match until the end of the match, he was playing unreal,” said Alcaraz. “I’ve never seen Daniil playing like this.”

“He deserves completely to get through and play a final here. All I can say is just congratulations to him.” 

Alcaraz said Medvedev, a former US Open winner, kept him off balance.

“I'm just running all the time against him.”  

Medvedev had his own outlook on the match.

“It’s an amazing feeling to beat someone like Carlos, No 1 in the world. In a way, when you play, it doesn’t matter the ranking.”

Sinner was No. 1 in the world for a few weeks before Alcaraz gained the spot. A Northern Italian whose basic language is German, Sinner goes about his business with few mistakes and fewer smiles. He moves beautifully and, at 6-foot-3, is able to reach shots that might escape others.

“First time I play in the finals here means a lot to me,” Sinner said.

This from a man who has won four Grand Slams and is the first from his country ever to be ranked number one.

Not surprisingly, he offered high praise of Medvedev. 

“He’s back to a very, very high level. Very big serve. I feel like, you know, he’s returning very well. Very, very deep. Everyone is trying to be slightly more aggressive.”

“And I think Daniil has found again a good, good balance on court, winning a title in Dubai, coming here, making again great results. But also last time we played has been quite a while now.”

Indeed. Let’s see.