Daniil Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz's long winning streak as he progressed to the Indian Wells Open final.

Alcaraz had won each of his 16 matches in 2026 up until facing the Russian in Saturday's semi-final.

The world number one's run came to an end as Medvedev triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7-3) to tee up a showdown with Jannik Sinner.

"Playing someone like Carlos, you play many times, you lose many times," Medvedev said.

"He's an amazing player with amazing shots, defence, attack, return, everything. So, you need to be at your best."

The decisive moment came midway through the second set, as Alcaraz failed to build on breaking Medvedev to lead 3-1.

Medvedev hit straight back, forcing the set to a tie-break, and two points against Alcaraz's serve put the former world number one in control.

2015 - Two players (Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev) have reached the Men’s Singles final at Indian Wells without conceding a set for the first time since 2015 (Novak Djokovic-Roger Federer). Levels.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @atptour pic.twitter.com/g9PQHkFH0i

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 15, 2026

Data Debrief: Setting the standard

Medvedev has now won an ATP Tour-leading 18 matches this season, and is into his third final of 2026. He won the title in Brisbane and then benefited from a walkover to claim the trophy in Dubai.

Like Sinner, Medvedev is yet to drop a set at Indian Wells. In fact, Medvedev has won 18 sets in a row.

Having previously overcome Jack Draper, Medvedev is the first player to defeat the reigning champion and ATP world number one (when they are not the same opponent) at a single Masters 1000 event since Holger Rune in Paris 2022.

Since the start of the 2020 season, Medvedev (239) and Sinner (231) are the only two players with 200+ ATP-level match wins on hard court.