Daniil Medvedev can take so much heart from his performances over the last week, but will naturally be disappointed to have come so close to the title and left with nothing.
Such is the cruel nature of tennis that there can only ever be one winner in any given tournament. Everyone else is, by definition, a loser.
However, with the 31-year-old, this feels different.
2025 was a torrid year for the Russian, who won just one Grand Slam match all season and failed to threaten for any titles until he finally ended his rut in October.
It marked his first trophy in 882 days.
Having already won two titles in 2026 and now reached the final of a Masters 1000 event as well, it’s fair to say that Daniil Medvedev is far from a loser, as his resurgence continues.
Martina Navratilova reviews Daniil Medvedev’s Indian Wells final loss
This was the sentiment that Martina Navratilova was keen to echo live on Sky Sports last night, offering her post-match analysis of the final.
It was a competitive encounter, with both sets going to a tiebreak. In the end, Jannik Sinner’s quality shone through, but the 18-time singles Grand Slam champion still had words of encouragement for Medvedev.
She claimed: “Overall, Daniil must be very happy with how he has played. If he keeps performing like this he is in the conversation for a major. He will be one of the top four players and he can hang tight with anybody if he can keep this up. There is no reason why not to. He is being more aggressive on his ground strokes and it’s working for him.”
Then, touching on how Carlos Alcaraz continues to impact Sinner’s development, Navratilova added: “They push each other and they push other people to get better as well.
“Daniil knew that. He knew he had to be more aggressive because the way he used to play would not beat these guys so everybody’s level goes up. And everyone else goes this is what I need to do to beat them.”
The legendary pundit was also present at the women’s final earlier in the day, with Navratilova admitting she screamed at what Aryna Sabalenka did during her win over Elena Rybakina.
Is Daniil Medvedev the third-best player in the world?
Whilst Novak Djokovic has long been considered the true third-best player in the world, despite the rankings perhaps not showing it, Medvedev might just have stepped into that role with this run at Indian Wells.
After all, it marked the third final he has reached in as many months, and beat Carlos Alcaraz on his way to that stage too.
This was a feat that seemed impossible to many, given how well the Spaniard had started the season. He was 16-0, but Medvedev ended that run before pushing Sinner in two tough sets.
He is ready and capable of competing with the world’s top two players, and will hope to establish himself as an elite player once again in 2026.