Daniil Medvedev halted Carlos Alcaraz’s perfect start to 2026 with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win in Saturday’s Indian Wells semi-final, securing a title showdown against Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz, 22, had started the year with an Australian Open victory and a Qatar title, carrying a 16-0 record into the match. But Medvedev, fresh from his Dubai triumph, outplayed the world number one with aggressive baseline strokes and pinpoint serving, pushing Alcaraz to the brink throughout.

The opening set was decided by a single break, and although Alcaraz initially surged ahead 3-1 in the second set, Medvedev broke back and then dominated the tiebreak 6-1 to reach the final for the third time. The 30-year-old Russian lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells finals of 2023 and 2024.

“Super happy to beat someone as strong as he is. It’s a great feeling,” said Medvedev. “He’s an amazing player with amazing shots, defense, attack, serve, return, everything. So you need to be at your best – and I was.”

Sinner stuns Zverev to reach maiden Indian Wells final

World number two Jannik Sinner produced a commanding 6-2, 6-4 win over Alexander Zverev in the first semi-final of the day. Sinner saved the only break point he faced and broke Zverev twice as the German’s errors mounted, securing the first set in just 31 minutes.

Despite fending off an early break point in the second set, Zverev could not gain the upper hand, with Sinner breaking again to seal the match. This victory marks Sinner’s first Indian Wells final and makes him the only player to reach the final of all six hardcourt ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.

Sinner had previously fallen to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals in both 2023 and 2024.

The Medvedev vs. Sinner final promises a high-stakes clash as the 2026 Masters 1000 season continues to heat up.