Medvedev thanks Indian Wells sân
"I have a toxic relationship with the court here, a love-hate relationship," Medvedev said with a big smile after losing to Carlos Alcaraz 3-6, 2-6 in the final on March 19. "I want to thank this stadium. I treated it badly, so it also treated me badly. I broke my ankle and cut my arm playing here, but this field gives me a chance to finish. It's a complete tournament. I love this tournament and would love to return in the coming years. Hopefully I can start loving it from now on."
During the 10 days of attending Indian Wells, Medvedev repeatedly complained to the referee about the speed of the pitch. He once got angry twice in the middle of the game, saying that the court at Indian Wells was too slow, not worthy of the hard court at a Masters 1000. Despite his inhibitions, Medvedev played better each round and reached the final. The Russian tennis player's 19-match winning streak in the past month was only stopped by the number one seed Alcaraz in the final.
"Sorry I couldn't make the final interesting," Medvedev said after losing to Alcaraz in just 70 minutes. "I don't want to lose, but today I lost easily." Medvedev won just five games, scored five winners and had no break points in his first Indian Wells final. The Russian tennis player admitted that his opponent was better, and said that Alcaraz is better adapted to windy weather.
Medvedev missed the opportunity to equalize the longest winning streak (20 matches) he has ever had in his career, and also failed to become the first person to win four consecutive ATP tournaments in the past seven years. "I can't be happy when the winning streak is stopped, right before my personal record," the 27-year-old added. "But this streak still gives confidence. I'm proud of it and will try to build a new winning streak."
Medvedev rose one place on the ATP scoreboard, rising to fifth place. But he will be in the top four seeds at the Miami Open - next week's Masters 1000 tournament, because Novak Djokovic cannot attend because he does not have a vaccine passport.
