Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz advance to the final in Indian Wells

Indian Wells, California – Daniel Medvedev Defeated Francis Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Saturday for his 19th straight win of the year and a place in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.

Medvedev will play for the title on Sunday against the top seed Carlos Alcarazwho defeated the No. 11 seed Yannick Sinner 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Alcaraz needs to win the title on Sunday to regain the world number one ranking from it Novak Djokovic. The Serb, a five-time Indian Wells champion, withdrew before the tournament started after he was not allowed to enter the United States because he was not immune to COVID-19.

Medvedev, seeded fifth, continued his dominance over Tiafoe, winning all five of their meetings, including 12 of 13 sets in the process.

“In general, I played at a really great level, but if I don’t win this match, I will have nightmares for a long time with all the chances I had,” Medvedev said in a televised interview on the field after the match. . Like six or seven match points and twice [I was] Serve in the match. But I’m glad to win. Now I can sleep well tonight and prepare for tomorrow.”

Medvedev’s winning streak dates back to the title race in Rotterdam in February. Then he won tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Now, the 2021 US Open champion and former world number one is in a position to add another title.

Medvedev proved his resilience during the 12-day tournament in the Southern California desert. He overcame a severely sprained ankle and a severed thumb in two straight matches to reach the final.

Alcaraz has played Medvedev only once, in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021. Medvedev won in three sets. Alcaraz said his biggest fear facing the 6-foot-6 Medvedev is his height.

“He’s really tall, you know,” said Alcaraz, who is six feet tall. “What can I say? I think he lost one game this year. He has a great winning streak and it will be a really tough challenge for me to play against him tomorrow. I’m going to enjoy the final and let’s see what happens.”

Last year, Alcaraz won the Miami Open and the US Open. On Sunday, he can win his third of the three US Grand Slams. After winning his first Grand Slam title in New York, 19-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest No. 1 player in history. He gave up the ranking of No. 1 to Novak Djokovic in january.

Alcaraz won Saturday with the power of his first serve (he made 72% of it to Sinner’s 50%), his creative play and his ability to move Sinner around the court and control the pace of the match from his opponent.

Barbora Krejcikova And Katerina Sinyakova She won the women’s doubles title with a score of 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-7 despite the win Beatrice Haddad Maya Brazil and Laura Sigmund Germany.

The Czech duo improved to 11-0 this year, having won the Australian Open in January. They split $436,730 in prize money.

ESPN’s Alyssa Roenick and The Associated Press contributed to this report.