INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Daniil Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Saturday for his nineteenth consecutive match victory of the yr and a berth within the BNP Paribas Open ultimate.
Medvedev will play for the title Sunday in opposition to top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Alcaraz must win the title Sunday to regain the No. 1 rating on the earth from Novak Djokovic. The Serb, a five-time champion in Indian Wells, withdrew earlier than the event started after he wasn’t allowed to enter the U.S. as a result of he’s unvaccinated in opposition to COVID-19.
Medvedev, the fifth seed, continued his domination of Tiafoe, profitable all 5 of their profession conferences, together with 12 of 13 units within the course of.
“Normally, I performed at a extremely nice degree, but when I did not win this match, I might have nightmares for a very long time with all of the alternatives I had,” Medvedev mentioned in an on-court TV interview after the match. “Like six or seven match factors and two instances [I was] serving for the match. However I’m glad to win. Now I can sleep nicely tonight and put together for tomorrow.”
Medvedev’s profitable streak dates to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then received tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Now, the 2021 US Open champion and former world No. 1 is in place so as to add one other title.
Medvedev has proved resilient in the course of the 12-day event within the Southern California desert. He overcame a badly twisted ankle and a reduce thumb in two straight matches to energy by to the ultimate.
Alcaraz has performed Medvedev solely as soon as, within the second spherical at Wimbledon in 2021. Medvedev received in three units. Alcaraz mentioned his largest concern dealing with the 6-foot-6 Medvedev is his top.
“He’s actually, actually tall, you recognize,” mentioned Alcaraz, who’s 6-foot. “What can I say? I believe he has simply misplaced one match this yr. He has a terrific string of wins and will probably be a extremely tough problem for me to play in opposition to him tomorrow. I will benefit from the ultimate and let’s have a look at what occurs.”
Final yr, Alcaraz received the Miami Open and the U.S. Open. On Sunday, he can win the third of the three large U.S. tournaments. After profitable his first Grand Slam title in New York, the 19-year-old Alcaraz turned the youngest males’s No. 1 in historical past. He relinquished the No. 1 rating to Novak Djokovic in January.
Alcaraz received Saturday on the power of his first serves (he made 72% of them, in comparison with 50% for Sinner), inventive play and his skill to maneuver Sinner across the court docket and take management the sport’s tempo from his opponent.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova received the ladies’s doubles title with a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 10-7 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and Laura Siegemund of Germany.
The Czech duo improved to 11-0 this yr, having received the Australian Open championship in January. They break up $436,730 in prize cash.
ESPN’s Alyssa Roenigk and The Related Press contributed to this report.
