Jannik Sinner has put his triumph at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday down to good preparation after ousting Daniil Medvedev to claim his first title of the season.
The world No.2 battled to a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win over Medvedev, who was on a nine-match winning streak. After coming through a tricky 61-minute opening set, Sinner sealed victory by staging a comeback from 0-4 in the second tiebreak by winning seven points in a row. He has now beaten Medvedev in nine out of their 10 most recent meetings on the Tour.
“It feels amazing. Great achievement,” Sinner said afterwards.
“It was a very tough match, so I’m very happy with how I handled the situation on the court.
“It’s great to see Daniil back playing at this level. I’m very happy.”
Sinner’s latest triumph has set two new records in the Masters series. At the age of 24, he has become the youngest to win all six hardcourt tournaments in the series at least once, breaking the record previously held by Andy Murray. He is also the first player to win back-to-back Masters 1000 events without dropping a set, with his other triumph being at the end of last year in Paris.
Coming into Indian Wells, the Italian was yet to claim any silverware in 2026 after falling in the semi-finals of the Australian Open and in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open. As for how he managed to end the drought, Sinner credits his work leading up to the event.
“We tried to come here very early. I knew that this was a tournament I hadn’t won, so I wanted to come here and prepare it in the best possible way, as professional as possible,” he explains.
“I felt very well prepared, so I was not having big issues with the weather and with the heat, which is very positive for me.
“It’s all part of the process we (Sinner and his team) are trying to do and become the best possible athlete. We definitely do a lot of work in the gym and to play at this level.”
As for Sinner’s current form, Medvedev believes his rival has improved his serve in recent months. During their Indian Wells clash, Sinner won 43 out of 47 points behind his first serve and 15 out of 25 points on his second.
“He was serving phenomenally,” said Medvedev.
“I do think that basically starting from the first match that he beat me in Beijing, he did something with his team on his serve, and he’s serving phenomenal. It’s super tough to read and it’s super tough to return, even when you read it. Not only for me, but for a lot of players.
“So that’s part of his success. It was super tough to be in the return position.”
There will be little time for Sinner and Medvedev to rest with the Miami Masters getting underway this week. A tournament they have both won.
