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Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are in the Indian Wells final for the second straight year. Both men showed their comeback abilities to progress in three sets from Saturday’s semi-finals.
Alcaraz was the first man on the court, and after a three-hour rain delay halted the first set at 1-2, he recovered from dropping the opening set 1-6 to snap Jannik Sinners’ unbeaten start to 2024 with a 1-6 6-3 6-2 in 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Daniil Medvedev then found himself in a similar position. Faced with Tommy Paul’s serve and volley renaissance, last year’s beaten finalist also dropped the first set 1-6 before his trademark 4D chess style of figuring out opponents saw him recover to a 1-6 7-6(3) 6-2 victory.
You can see match recaps, quotes, stats, and highlights below.
2024 BNP Paribas Open Semi Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Daniil Medvedev (4) | Tommy Paul (17) | 1-6 7-6(3) 6-2 |
| Carlos Alcaraz (2) | Jannik Sinner (3) | 1-6 6-3 6-2 |
Alcaraz Ends Sinner’s Winning Streak
Carlos Alcaraz is just one win away from successfully defending his Indian Wells title. His 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory ended Jannik Sinner’s 19-match winning streak.
Sinner started setting the two more promising as he forged a 2-1 lead before the clouds opened, and play was delayed for three hours.
On resumption, Sinner started where he left off, reeling off four straight games to take the set 6-1 as Alcaraz had no real answers to his firepower from the baseline as he tried to fight fire with fire.
In set two, with Alcaraz so far only trying to outhit Sinner and getting drawn into a game of ping-pong tennis that was not working, he started to mix up his game more, throwing in loopier balls, drop shots and varying his pace to prevent Sinner from just spanking winners.
That paid off for the Spaniard as he captured the set 6-3, saving break points at 4-2 and 5-3 to level the match.
Those tactics continued into the third, and Alcaraz finished the stronger of the two. Again, he mixed up his game with heavy spin returns from deep behind the baseline and injecting pace into his flatter forehands once he’d found some court space to hit into after working the angles with higher bouncing balls.
I stayed strong mentally. I think that’s a really important part of this game. You have to be mentally strong if you want to overcome this kind of match, a set down against someone playing an unbelievable game. I’m really happy with the things that I’ve done after that. I changed my style a little bit, I changed my game a little bit and I think it worked very well. I’m really happy to beat Jannik and be in the final again. Alcaraz on his comeback vs Sinner.
He showed already so many things that, for sure, you are always impressed when you play against him. But you are also prepared, like for certain shots, drop shots. He’s moving really, really fast, as we know. Especially on this court where the ball bounces really high, it’s not easy to play against him because he can play with a lot of spin. But what I missed today is I was too predictable at some points. I was doing the same things repeatedly, which, in my mind, let me down. I was playing really good the first set. Then, after, when you see your opponent, you know, struggling a little bit, I try to stay solid instead of trying to move around. So, I was too predictable at some points. I think that’s the lesson for today. We will work on certain things, and hopefully, I will improve. Sinner on the area of his game he was disappointed with.
Match Stats
| Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 1 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 2 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 62% | 65% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 65% (30/46) | 70% (33/47) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 54% (15/28) | 52% (13/25) |
| Break Points Saved | 50% (3/6) | 50% (2/4) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 30% (14/47) | 35% (16/46) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 48% (12/25) | 46% (13/28) |
| Break Points Converted | 50% (2/4) | 50% (3/6) |
| Winners | 21 | 15 |
| Unforced Errors | 15 | 13 |
| Net Points Won | 70% (16/23) | 71% (12/17) |
| Max Points In Row | 6 | 5 |
| Service Points Won | 61% (45/74) | 64% (46/72) |
| Return Points Won | 36% (26/72) | 39% (29/74) |
| Total Points Won | 49% (71/146) | 51% (75/146) |
| Max Games In Row | 5 | 5 |
| Service Games Won | 75% (9/12) | 83% (10/12) |
| Return Games Won | 17% (2/12) | 25% (3/12) |
| Total Games Won | 46% (11/24) | 54% (13/24) |
Medvedev Sets Rematch with Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev is back in the BNP Paribas Open final for the second consecutive year thanks to a 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 win over Tommy Paul.
Like Alcaraz, Medvedev had to recover from dropping the first set 1-6 and didn’t hold his serve until the first game of the second set 😱
Paul has been a breath of fresh air this week. He frequently plays serve and volley, saying in earlier interviews that he’s been watching Edberg, Becker, and his favourite Henman to draw inspiration from their net games.
That paid off, as he came out of the blocks flying to take the opener 6-1. However, few, if any, players are as adept at figuring out how to win tennis matches as Medvedev, and he forged his own 4-0 lead in set two by drawing Paul into longer rallies.
The Russian went on to serve for it at 5-3, but Paul used his come-forward style and injections of pace to break back and force a tiebreak.
Into the tiebreak, the point of the match came with Paul leading 3-2, as you can see in the highlights below. Both players showed incredible court and net coverage.
Unfortunately, the American twisted his ankle during that rally and lost the following four points, giving Medvedev the tiebreak.
After having his ankle retaped during the changeover, it looked like he would be fit to continue, but Medvedev quickly moved up a double break. The Russian was able to fend off Paul’s continued attacks, which just weren’t quite as potent as before his ankle twist.
It was very tough. When it’s evening and cold here, it’s very tough to go through the serve. I understood that, and he played an unbelievable first set. So I was like, OK, if I want to win I just have to try to do a little bit better to find the shot that’s going to make him in trouble. I found some, especially on my serve. Then the match started to be a long fight. Even in the third set, it was 6-2, but it was very, very long games and I think it was a long set. So I’m really happy to be able to pull this out. Medvedev on his win over Paul.
Match Stats
| Tommy Paul | Daniil Medvedev | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 5 | 2 |
| Double Faults | 3 | 3 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 53% | 62% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 64% (34/53) | 59% (38/64) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 45% (21/47) | 41% (16/39) |
| Break Points Saved | 50% (5/10) | 55% (6/11) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 41% (26/64) | 36% (19/53) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 59% (23/39) | 55% (26/47) |
| Break Points Converted | 45% (5/11) | 50% (5/10) |
| Winners | 42 | 26 |
| Unforced Errors | 14 | 17 |
| Net Points Won | 60% (35/58) | 53% (18/34) |
| Max Points In Row | 8 | 6 |
| Service Points Won | 55% (55/100) | 52% (54/103) |
| Return Points Won | 48% (49/103) | 45% (45/100) |
| Total Points Won | 51% (104/203) | 49% (99/203) |
| Max Games In Row | 4 | 4 |
| Service Games Won | 64% (9/14) | 62% (8/13) |
| Return Games Won | 38% (5/13) | 36% (5/14) |
| Total Games Won | 52% (14/27) | 48% (13/27) |
Indian Wells 2024 Semi-Final Highlights
BNP Paribas Open 2024 Final
- Daniil Medvedev (4) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Who do you think takes home the title? Let me know in the comments.
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