Indian Wells Masters: Medvedev wins 16th match in a row, faces Zverev next

Medvedev and Zverev are tied at 6-6 in their head-to-head with the Russian winning five of their six most recent meetings

Daniil Medvedev at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters Image Credit: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

March 13, 2023

BNP Paribas Open •Third round • completed

See draw

D. MedvedevvsI. Ivashka

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No 5 seed, reached the last 16 of the Indian Wells Masters by defeating Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on Sunday.

The former world No 1, who once again complained about the slow court conditions telling the chair umpire that “This is not hardcourts”, has now won 16 matches in a row, all on hardcourts, having won titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai before the Indian Wells tournament.

“(It’s) tough to make anything during the rallies, so just have to kind of see who puts more balls in court” Medvedev said. “If you lose a little momentum you lose a set.”

Medvedev’s crazy winning streak

“I missed less at the end”, the Russian added. “That’s the only thing you can do. You cannot do more. It was a matter of a few points. Second and third sets for me they were kind of the same, the score is completely different. It’s just who plays better the most important points — break points, 30-all. I managed to do better in the third set.”

The win improves his record for the season to 21-2. Only Djokovic (Adelaide) and Korda (Australian Open) defeated coach Cervara’s player in 2023. In the previous round of the Indian Wells Tennis Masters, the Russian won against American Brandon Nakashima (6-4, 6-3).

Daniil Medvedev in action at the BNP Paribas Open at 2023 Indian Wells | © Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

No player has won more matches in 2023 than Daniil Medvedev. This is the most consecutive matches he has won in a single calendar year; his longest winning streak is 20 matches which took place over 2020 and 2021.

Medvedev, ranked No 6, will face German Alexander Zverev, the No 12 seed, next. The pair have split their 12 meetings on the tour, with the head-to-head evenly tied at 6-6.

After Zverev won five of their first six meetings on the tour, Medvedev has turned the tables on their rivalry, winning five of their six most recent encounters, with all 12 of their matches coming on hardcourts.

Ruud and Khachanov out

Medvedev vs Zverev is the most marquee round of 16 match in the lower part of the draw. The three other matches are

Davidovich Fokina – Garin
Rublev (6) – Norrie (10)
Tiafoe (14) – Tabilo

Two other seeds were knocked out of the tournament after Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday. Casper Ruud (third seed) was eliminated by Cristian Garin and Karen Khachanov (13th seed) was defeated by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No 23).

Indian Wells Masters, other third-round results (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 8,800,000):