Why Daniil Medvedev says he’s confident going into the Indian Wells clash with Carlos Alcaraz

Daniil Medvedev has said he feels confident ahead of his Indian Wells semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, describing his chances as “good.”

Alcaraz has already won the tournament twice and is once again among the favourites to come out on top this year.

He claimed the title in 2023 and 2024, with both of those finals coming against Medvedev.

The Russian has spoken about what it’s like to take on Alcaraz, who booked his spot in the last four by getting past Cameron Norrie.

Medvedev backs himself to play Alcaraz closer this time

Speaking to the media in California, Medvedev said: “Yeah, I saw he won the first set, so I don’t want to go too early because Cam is a tough opponent for him.

“But if it’s Carlos, I feel like I’m playing great, very good tennis. I never want to jump into conclusions like best tennis of my life or whatever. I’m playing very good.

“I feel like the court is a bit faster since the two times I have played him. The balls are different. So I feel like it’s a good chance to try to, you know, to show my best tennis against him.

“But he’s the toughest opponent we have right now, him and Jannik [Sinner], maybe a bit debatable who is the toughest.

The world number four went on: “So it’s a very tough opponent, and if it’s him, I need to show my absolute best and try to beat him.”

Daniil Medvedev picks up second career win over defending ATP Masters 1000 champion

Alcaraz is the current world number one heading into their match, while Medvedev sits just outside the top 10 at number 11.

Still, both have two titles each this year. Alcaraz has picked up wins at the Australian Open and Qatar Open, while Medvedev has claimed titles in Brisbane and Dubai.

Medvedev’s latest tournament wins should give him plenty of confidence, especially after knocking out defending champion Jack Draper.

According to OptaAce, it’s only the second time he’s beaten a defending champion at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

The other came against Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati semifinals back in 2019 when Medvedev went on to capture his first Masters title.

This time around, he beat Draper 6-1, 7-5 and had already knocked out Alejandro Tabilo, Sebastian Baez and Alex Michelsen on his way through the draw.

All of those wins came without dropping a set. In contrast, Alcaraz lost one set to Arthur Rinderknech in round three. The Spaniard does hold a strong edge over Medvedev historically though, leading their head-to-head record with six wins from eight matches between them so far.

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