Jannik Sinner won the BNP Paribas Open title for the first time in his career by beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6(6), 7-6(4) on Sunday afternoon. Playing in his first final in Indian Wells, Sinner triumphed after one hour and 55 minutes.
Both players held serve the entire match, with Sinner only separating himself — just barely — in each tiebreaker. The second-ranked Italian earned the only return point of the opening tiebreaker at 6-6 before serving it out one point later. He came back from 4-0 down in the second ‘breaker to win the last seven points of the match.
“We came here very, very early to prepare for this (tournament),” Sinner reflected during the trophy ceremony. “Now it’s beautiful standing here with this trophy.”
It was a still a great fortnight for Medvedev, who jokingly thanked tournament director Tommy Haas for making the courts faster this year — although the Russian had already reached Indian Wells finals on two previous occasions. Medvedev is 18-4 this season with titles in Brisbane and Dubai, and he upset Carlos Alcaraz in the semis on Saturday.
“It’s great to see you back playing this kind of level,” Sinner said. “Keep going, keep pushing; I wish you only the best for the rest of the season.”
“Amazing tennis,” Medvedev told the champion. “(It’s) tough to play against you. I tried my best; it was a good match. Big congrats to you for everything you are doing. Whenever you play Carlos, I love to see it. Now I was happy to not let Carlos play you again, but I love watching you guys. Go for it; continue winning and never stop.”