Carlos Alcaraz, the world's top-ranked tennis player, suffered his first defeat of the year.
Alcaraz lost to Daniil Medvedev (ranked 11th, Russia) 0-2 (3-6, 6-7) in the men's singles semifinal of the ATP Tour BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on March 14 local time.
The defeat ended Alcaraz's 16-match winning streak this year. The Spanish player had previously won both the Australian Open and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Alcaraz was aiming for his third consecutive title at this tournament following his 2023 and 2024 victories, but his championship bid ended in the semifinals.
Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner (ranked 2nd, Italy) in the final. Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev (ranked 4th, Germany) 2-0 (6-2, 6-4) in an earlier semifinal match.
Medvedev avenged his consecutive final losses to Alcaraz at this tournament in 2023 and 2024. He also snapped a four-match losing streak against Alcaraz, improving his head-to-head record to 3 wins and 6 losses. Medvedev is seeking back-to-back tournament victories following his Dubai Duty Free Championships title earlier this month.
Sinner reached the final of this tournament for the first time. He has yet to win a title this year, having been eliminated in the Australian Open semifinals and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarterfinals. However, even a victory at this tournament would not change Sinner's world ranking of No. 2. Medvedev will rise to 9th with a win or 10th with a runner-up finish.
Sinner holds a slight edge in their head-to-head record at 8 wins to 7 losses. Medvedev dominated with six straight victories from 2020 through the first half of 2023, but Sinner has since taken the upper hand, including a current three-match winning streak.