Daniil Medvedev will meet Carlos Alcaraz again in the final of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, California. In dramatic fashion, the Russian beat Tommy Paul by 2 sets to 1, partials of 1/6, 7/6 (7/3) and 6/2, in 2h23min of the match. The American ended up twisting his ankle during the match and was unable to overcome the pain to reach the final.
Against Alcaraz, the Russian has the chance to win the last hard-court Masters, as he won in Cincinnati (2019), Shanghai (2019), Paris (2020), Canada (2021) and Miami (2023).
This is also Medvedev’s tenth level 1000 decision. Last year, he was surpassed by the Spaniard himself, who reached the final after beating Jannik Sinner by 2 sets to 1, partials of 1/6, 6/3 and 6/2.
Medvedev and Alcaraz have already faced each other on five occasions, with the Spaniard winning three, including last year, when he beat his rival 6-3 and 6-2 to take the Indian Wells title. The decision is scheduled for this Sunday, at 6 pm (Brasília time).
Tommy Paul wanted a rematch
Motivated to fight back after suffering two defeats to Medvedev (Roland Garros and Beijing), Paul didn’t give the Russian the slightest chance in the first set and was devastating, winning 6/1.
The payback came in the next set, when Medvedev took a 4/0 lead. However, the American decided to complicate his opponent’s life, reacted and drew 5/5. The American avoided two set points and managed to take the game to a tie-break. The duel was tied at 3/3, but Paul twisted his ankle and saw the Russian close at 7/3.
Despite the injury, Paul did not throw in the towel and played in the sacrifice until the end, after receiving medical attention. Unable to get rid of the pain and with impaired movements, he ended up being overcome by the Russian, who closed the third set without any fear, 6/2.
*With agencies
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This content was originally created in Itatiaia.
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