Medvedev reached the fourth final in a row

The Russian extended the winning streak to 19 matches.

Russian first racket Daniil Medvedev reached the final of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament in Indian Wells, beating American Francis Tiafoe in two sets with a score of 7:5, 7:6. Despite the fact that the match ended in two games, this confrontation was more than tense. The first set turned out to be equal: with the score 2:2, Daniil earned a triple break point, but he could not convert this advantage. Another chance presented itself only when the score was 5:5. Medvedev designed a key break in the game, because in the game there were no problems on his pitch – 7:5.

But what happened in the second set is rather difficult to explain. Medvedev began to dominate Tiafoe from the very first draws, literally trampling him into the court. Daniil got to every ball, regardless of how hard the American hit. With the score 1:3, Tiafoe even had to win back a double break point: it seemed that Medvedev would calmly bring the match to its logical conclusion, the Russian looked so impenetrable.

Then it was 3:5 and 15:40 – two match points with an excellent chance for Daniil not to bring the matter to his serve. But in those moments, the American, including with the help of risky exits to the net, was able to save the game by playing a total of three match points. The audience and Francis himself were a little inspired, and when Medvedev suddenly gave his serve with a double fault, the stadium roared with delight. After this local failure, Danya won seven draws in a row, taking the opponent’s serve to zero and leading 40:0 on his own. It would seem that a triple match point means that we can already expect an opponent in the final. But the American did not give up, having played first a triple match point, and then one more – the seventh in a row – Tiafoe heroically reached the tie-break. However, Medvedev, apparently, was already tired of the drama himself, he quickly took the lead 5:1. Tiafoe again tried to get to Dani – 5:4. And then Medvedev ruthlessly hammered in 2 aces and ended this crazy scripted match. “It was scary. Great match!” Medvedev said at the net.

In a post-match interview, the Russian said: “The ending turned out to be crazy, I was leading 6:5, 40:0, and when it became equal, I got nervous, I started to pinch, I started thinking about missed opportunities to win, but still continued to play quite well. I admit, the matchball ace was a real relief. I’m just glad that I managed not to lose this semi-final.”

In the final, Medvedev will play Carlos Alcaraz, a young Spanish star who claims to be number one in the rankings. If the Spaniard can win the tournament, he will return to the tennis Olympus. Opponents met only once on the court, at Wimbledon 2021, then Medvedev won a landslide victory.

“I really want to play against the best tennis player in the world,” Alcaraz said of the upcoming final. “I always say that if I’m going to be the best, I have to beat the best. And I will say that Daniel is the best player now, he has an amazing winning streak. It’s going to be a really tough challenge, but I’m ready for it.”

Whether the Spaniard is ready for this really difficult challenge can be found out on March 20 at 2 am (Moscow time).

Daniel Prilepsky.