Medvedev encouraged by strong Indian Wells run, especially as it’s “a tough place to play tennis”

The Russian heads to Miami in good spirits, haven competed well in conditions that don’t suit him

Panoramic / Panoramic

March 18, 2024

Daniil Medvedev found Carlo Alcaraz a bridge too far in the Indian Wells final on Sunday night, losing out 7-6 (5), 6-1 as the Spaniard found his top form again in the desert.

But in conditions that clearly didn’t suit him, at least in his mind, Medvedev leaves California headed to Florida for the Miami Masters in good spirits, confident in his game, despite another defeat in a high-profile final, to follow his loss to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.

“It’s a tough place to play tennis, balls flying a little bit, the serve doesn’t count as much and me, when the serve doesn’t count as much, I usually don’t play very well,” Medvedev told reporters.

“So I’m really, really happy with two weeks. Today, the first thing I asked myself in the locker room — not myself, my coach, I was like, I don’t feel I have any regrets. Do you have any regrets? He said, Yeah, we can talk about one shot here and there, but in general the match was not bad. He (Alcaraz) is playing good.

“He managed in the first set at one moment to raise his level. I kind of managed to be there and to try to catch his level, but I was just a little bit down. In the end, this down was going down, down, down, and he was going up, up, up. So the result is, how you say, not expected but is a fair result for the match that it was. But I’m happy. Last time I managed to do it (reached the Indian Wells final, in 2023) I won Miami, so that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Thank you @BNPPARIBASOPEN for another great tournament. See you next year. pic.twitter.com/KiJykTXfLR
— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) March 18, 2024

“See what I can do better next time”

Alcaraz has now won four of the past five meetings between the two players but Medvedev said he would continue to work on his game, ready to take advantage when conditions are more suitable.

“For the moment, my opinion is that this court, with Carlos, tough,” he said. But at the same time, I’m someone who always wants to win. This match I managed to do better than last year where I was just smashed off the court. Today one set I was not.

“We (he and his coaches) are definitely going to talk, because even this match is good, and when we play next time, no matter which surface, to try to see what can I do better next time to try to beat him, which I did in US Open.”