Second-ranked Jannik Sinner closed the gap on the top ranking on Sunday by beating Daniil Medvedev, the man who just a day earlier knocked off the No. 1 player in the world, in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Italy’s Sinner, seeded second in the event, captured his first career crown at Indian Wells and first title of 2026 with a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) victory over the 11th-seeded Medvedev. The Russian, ranked No. 10 in the world, had ousted Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who sits atop the ATP Rankings, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Sinner is 2,200 points behind Alcaraz thanks to the weekend’s results. Alcaraz has wins at the Australian Open and in Doha this year but his unbeaten streak was snapped by the 30-year-old Medvedev, who presented a similar challenge on Sunday.
“It was a very, very tough match,” said Sinner, 24. “It is great to see Daniil back playing this level. I am very happy. I came here from day one, training really hard and this result makes me very happy. Sharing this moment with the team and friends here is really special.”
Sinner did not drop a set during the California tournament, the first man to win consecutive Masters 1000 titles without losing a set since the series began in 1990. Sinner also won in Paris last November.
But it got dicey for him on Sunday as Medvedev went out 4-0 in the second-set tiebreak before yielding seven straight points and losing the match.
“I kept believing and kept pushing,” Sinner said of his tiebreak turnaround. “I went for my shots a little more. A third set, we would have started even, so I tried my best to close it out and I am very happy. It was an incredible ending.”
Neither player lost their serve during the match. Sinner did not face a break point, while Medvedev saved on both occasions.
Sinner had the edge in aces (10-7) and winners (28-15), but had more unforced errors (31-24).
He won 91% of his first-serve points (43 of 47), to 77% (37 of 48) for Medvedev.
“I would like to congratulate Jannik, amazing tennis, tough to play against you,” Medvedev said during the trophy ceremony. “I tried my best, but big congrats to you for everything you are doing. Whenever you play Carlos, I love to see it, but I was happy to not let Carlos play you again (here).”
Sinner is a career 9-7 against Medvedev in ATP matches, winning nine of their last 10 meetings.
The win on Sunday made Sinner the third man, with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, to complete the set of six ATP Masters 1000 hard-court titles. He has 100 Masters 1000 victories.
–Field Level Media
