The standard set by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner ensures that each and every one of their defeats is treated as a major shock, but we need to look beyond the scoreline to put some context on this story.
Alcaraz and Sinner have been the dominant players in men’s tennis for the last two years, winning all of the last nine Grand Slam tournaments between them and creating an aura that has left the chasing pack doubting whether they can beat the new ‘Big 2’.
That explains why Sinner’s defeat against Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open created a shockwave through tennis and now we are seeing a similar reaction to Alcaraz’s straight sets loss against Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells.
Yet if you watched each and every point of the match between world No 1 Alcaraz and former top-ranked player Medvedev, the end result was not a surprise.
You may argue Alcaraz was not at his best against Medvedev, but the reality may be that the Russian played at such a sustained high level that it ensured Alcaraz was amenable to do what he wanted in front of an Indian Wells crowd that was, thankfully, bigger than we have seen for most of the tournament.
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Medvedev produced a magnificent performance to beat Alcaraz and crucially, the former US Open champion believed he could beat the seven-time Grand Slam winner.
That is not always the case with many of the players who take on Alcaraz and Sinner, with the scars of mauling at the hands of the dominant champions in the men’s game diluting their belief.
“These two have set the bar so high and I’m fascinated to see who can challenge them,” Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon told Tennis365.
“There is so much scar tissue for the players ranked three and below that I think it may be one of the next generation that comes through and challenges Alcaraz and Sinner.
“It is going to be Jakub Mensik, who is like Dolph Lundgren in the Rocky film. He’s like he is just going to storm in and do this.
“Then I look at Jack Draper and he seemed to be getting close to that level to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner until he got his injury problems.
“Maybe there will be more young players coming through because I just feel the Zverevs, the Medvedevs the Rublevs, they have been beaten so often by Alcaraz and Sinner that maybe they don’t believe they can beat them anymore.
“So I think it needs to be one of the young guys to come through and steamroller them and in a way, I hope that doesn’t happen.
“I’m happy to see Alcaraz and Sinner play in all the big finals and anyone who says it’s boring is wrong. They bring such amazing tennis on court when they play each other and I just want to see more of it.”
Alcaraz spoke about the pressure he feels as the star man in the men’s game and the expectations that are always hovering around him, but this first defeat of 2026 should not be treated as a disaster for the Spaniard.
Medvedev’s return of serve was back to its brilliant best and his confidence has also been boosted by his recent form, which included a win at the ATP 500 event in Dubai last month.
At his best, Medvedev can play tennis to push any player out of their comfort zone and the challenge for the 30-year-old has been maintaining those high levels of performance when as he lost his way in 2025.
This version of Medvedev will be back in the mix to win all the major titles and it was also a reminder to Alcaraz that it is not just Sinner who can take him out of his comfort zone.
This Alcaraz defeat should come with an asterisk against it as it was more a win for Medvedev than a loss for the world No 1, with his comments on the pressure he is feeling making for interesting reading.
“I said it when I played against [Arthur] Rinderknech [in Round 3], for example, that what I’m just getting tired a little bit is to get that target on my back all the time. As I said, I have never seen Daniil playing like this before.
“But I have to accept it. I have to accept it, keep it going. But after everything, as I said, I just realised what I had to do and what I have to think before every match and before every tournament, and it is just playing for me, playing for my team, and for my close people.
“I’m not thinking about I need to win, or I have to win. It’s just about chasing my goals, chasing what I just set up before every tournament.
“That’s my mindset, so I’m not getting tired of the people thinking I have to win every match.”
Dealing with the pressure Alcaraz’s has helped to create with the standards he has set is as big a challenge as anyone he will face on a tennis court, but losing against Medvedev in the form he showed in their Indian Wells semi-final is not a reason to panic.
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