Indian Wells, California. , Daniil Medvedev Defeated Frances Tiafoe On Saturday, he won his 19th consecutive match of the year by 7-5, 7-6 (4) and made it to the final of BNP Paribas Open.
Medvedev will play against the top seed on Sunday for the title Carlos Alcarazwho beat the No. 11 seed genetic sinner 7-6(4), 6-3.
Alcaraz needs to win the title on Sunday to regain the No. 1 ranking in the world Novak Djokovik, The Serb, a five-time champion at Indian Wells, withdrew from the tournament before it began after he was not allowed to enter the US as he is unimmunized against COVID-19.
Fifth seed Medvedev continued his dominance of Tiafoe, winning all five of their career meetings, including 12 out of 13 sets in the process.
Medvedev said in an on-court TV interview after the match, “In general, I played at a really good level, but if I didn’t win this match, I would have had nightmares for a long time with all the chances. ” , “Six or seven match points and like twice [I was] serving to match. But I’m happy to win. Now I can sleep well tonight and prepare for tomorrow.”
Medvedev’s winning streak dates back to their title match in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Now, the 2021 US Open champion and former world No. 1 is in a position to add another title.
Medvedev has proved resilient during the 12-day tournament in the Southern California desert. He overcame a badly sprained ankle and a cut thumb in two straight matches to enter the finals.
Alcaraz has played Medvedev only once, in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021. Medvedev won in three sets. Alcaraz said his biggest concern against the 6-foot-6 Medvedev was his height.
“He’s really tall, you know,” said Alcaraz, who is 6 feet. “What can I say? I think he has lost just one match this year. He has a great winning streak and playing against him tomorrow will be a really tough challenge for me. I am going to enjoy the final And let’s see what happens.”
Last year, Alcaraz won the Miami Open and the US Open. On Sunday, he can win the third title out of the three major tournaments of America. After winning his first Grand Slam title in New York, 19-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest men’s No. 1 in history. He relinquished the No. 1 ranking Novak Djokovik In January.
Alcaraz won Saturday on the strength of his first serves (he made 72% of them, compared to 50% for the setter), creative play and the ability to move the seter around the court and control the pace of play from his opponent. their ability to do so.
Barbora Krejcikova And Katerina Sinyakova 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-7 won the women’s doubles title. Beatriz Haddad Maia Brazil and Laura Siegmund of Germany.
The Czech pair improved to 11-0 this year after winning the Australian Open championship in January. They split $436,730 in prize money.
ESPN’s Alyssa Roenigk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.