Jannik Sinner is back. The Italian won the Indian Wells tournament and is finally smiling after a less than stellar start to the season.

He did so by defeating a reborn Daniil Medvedev, who lost in straight sets on the hot Californian hard court, 7-6, 7-6. It was Jannik's sixth Grand Prix title, but more importantly, his first win of the season. He surprisingly dedicated it to his friend Kimi Antonelli, the first Italian to win a Grand Prix in 20 years. First, he wrote "Bravo Kimi" as his signature on the courtside camera, then in his customary winner's speech, he was even more direct: "A day of celebration for Italy. I'm a huge Formula 1 fan, and to have a very young Italian, Kimi Antonelli, leading Italy to the top is truly a thrill. Thank you, Kimi, thank you, F1."

Sinner is smiling, seemingly having regained his composure and game on the court. From the courts of the scorching West Coast desert, a significant response is coming: the rebirth of the Italian from Sesto Pusteria and the "return to normality" for Carlos Alcaraz, who was defeated in the semifinals. The twenty-two-year-old from Murcia had arrived at Indian Wells with a record of 16 wins and no losses in 2026 before his defeat to Medvedev.

The anticipated showdown between the world number one and number two didn't happen, except at a distance. At Indian Wells, the Italian demonstrated the strength and ability to bounce back after unexpected setbacks in Australia and Doha. The Spaniard, for his part, understood that he can't afford even a moment's slump against opponents who, like Medvedev, give him no breaks. After all, anyone who plays against the world number one has nothing to lose. "The only thing that tires me out a little is always having a target on my back," said a disappointed Alcaraz after his semifinal defeat.

At Indian Wells, Sinner was the strongest. The Italian champion, however, had to struggle against Medvedev. The first set lasted an hour, played point-for-point with long rallies from the baseline. Sinner failed to capitalize on two break points in the seventh game but then managed to close out the tiebreak on his second set point. The Russian, who had slipped out of the top 10 in recent months, demonstrated that he was back playing at a very high level. In the second set, the match between the two was once again extremely tight. Sinner and Medvedev once again reached a tiebreak. The Russian took a two-break lead, 4-0, but Jannik—just when it seemed he had given up—came back to close it out at 6-4. Now everyone is off to Florida for the Miami tournament.

On the women's side, the WTA 1000 tournament went to Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian, world number one, came from behind to defeat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, in a third set that was fought point-for-point until the tie-break ended 8-6. For Sabalenka, this was a rematch against the Kazakh player, number three in the WTA rankings, who had recently beaten her at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

(Unioneonline)

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