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Sinner battles past Medvedev to clinch maiden Indian Wells crown

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Jannik Sinner had to dig deep to lift his first Indian Wells title with a straight-sets victory over Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Sinner was taken to a tie-break in both sets in a tightly fought encounter in California, but he triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) in just under two hours.

The Italian has now won all the 'Big Titles' at hard-court events, winning all six ATP Masters 1000 events, the ATP Finals, the Australian Open and the US Open, matching Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

The pair traded blows in a closely-fought first set, with Medvedev saving two break points in the seventh game as a tie-break would decide who would take the early advantage. 

And it would go in favour of Sinner, who eventually ground down his plucky opponent after seeing his fierce serve returned long, though the battle continued into the second set. 

Both players remained strong on serve, with neither able to force a break point as they battled their way to a second tie-break.

It looked like Medvedev was set to force a decider when he reeled off the first four points, but Sinner showed his mettle by winning the following seven to get his hands on the trophy.

"I knew that this was a tournament I haven't won, so I wanted to prepare in the best possible way, as professionally as possible," said Sinner.

"Having this achievement now means a lot to me. Now I have a couple of days to relax – there is not so much time in between here and Miami.

"It's again an important tournament in Miami, but we try to play the best tennis possible there too."

Data Debrief: Sinner completes the set to write history

Sinner has become the first player to win consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events without conceding a set, since the format's introduction in 1990.

In fact, he has won 22 consecutive sets at Masters 1000 events, the second-longest streak in series history (since 1990) – Djokovic won 24 straight in 2016.

Since 1990, the world number two has become just the second player to win each of his first six Masters 1000 titles at six different events, along with his defeated opponent, Medvedev.

Since the format's introduction in 1990, Sinner (24 years and 200 days) is now the youngest player to win all six ATP Masters 1000 events on hard court, surpassing Andy Murray (29y 169d) in Paris in 2016.