INDIAN WELLS, California, March 15 (Reuters) - Jannik Sinner claimed his maiden Indian Wells title on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-6(6) 7-6(4) in a polished display of hard-court excellence under the California desert sun.
The Italian was imperious throughout, finishing with 28 winners, 10 aces and a perfect eight out of eight net points.
He is now only the third player in history to win all six ATP Masters 1000 hard-court titles, joining Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Furthermore, with his first title of the year, he became the first player since 1990 to win consecutive Masters 1000 titles without dropping a set and extended his winning streak in this category to 11 matches, dating back to his Paris title last November.
In a fast-paced opening set, Medvedev attacked from the outset, putting significant pressure on Sinner. The back-and-forth exchange pushed the 30-year-old to 6-5, only for the Italian to force a tiebreak.
With little to separate them, Sinner proved to be the more clinical player in the tiebreak. The 24-year-old seized the advantage when Medvedev mishandled a forehand volley at 5-4, and then closed out the set on his second set point.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with the four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner working hard to take the lead, even leaving Medvedev to love in the fifth game to get a 3-2 advantage. However, the Russian didn't give up, levelling after the Italian got a 6-5 advantage to force another tiebreak.
In a bid to reach a decisive third set, Medvedev raced to a commanding 4-0 lead, but Sinner reeled him in, catching him at 4-4 before closing out 7-4 to seal the match.
"I kept believing and kept pushing," Sinner said after the match. "I went for my shots a little more. A third set, we would have started even, so I tried my best to close it out and I am very happy. It was an incredible ending."
"It was a very, very tough match," Sinner said. "It is great to see Daniil back playing this level. I am very happy. I came here from day one, training really hard and this result makes me very happy," he added.
Medvedev reached the final in superb form, having stunned the world number one, Carlos Alcaraz, in the semi-finals — ending the Australian Open champion's perfect 16-match winning streak at the start of the season. However, he has now lost three Indian Wells finals.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
