ATP Masters Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev fails at Gael Monfils and loses number one, Carlos Alcaraz very strong
In the third round of the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event, Gael Monfils pulled off the big surprise against world number one Daniil Medvedev , the Frenchman got the upper hand 4: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 1. Due to the Russian's defeat, Novak Djokovic is number one in the world again from Monday. In the round of 16, Monfils will now face CarlosAlcaraz , who showed a perfect performance against Roberto Bautista Agut .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 14, 2022, 09:19 pm
Those who had treated themselves to a long weekend in California and spent the start of the week at the tennis courts in Indian Wells instead of at work, got their money's worth in the early midday hours. On center court, Gael Monfils challenged world number one Daniil Medvedev at the start of the day, at the same time Maria Sakkari and Petra Kvitova (stadium two) and Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut battled it out in stage three.
On the center court there was a match that was characterized by long, intense rallies - in which mostly Daniil Medvedev had the better end for himself. Gael Monfils, however, served well and served himself to make it 4:4 with little risk. But then the Frenchman played a very weak service game and had to accept the break after a forehand error to zero. Medvedev accepted with thanks and easily closed the first set 6: 4.
Medvedev is slacking off
At the beginning of the second set, Medvedev was close to making the preliminary decision in this game early on: However, Monfils was able to thwart a breakball in the first game of the set. This seemed to give the Frenchman a boost: The 35-year-old now made the break himself, but had to give it back immediately after a marathon game.
The impression remained: Monfils had now found the match much better, made the break at 4: 3 out of nowhere - and secured the second set a little later with 6: 3. With a very cheeky underarm serve to win the set. Daniil Medvedev, on the other hand, had now completely lost the thread, played a very weak service game right at the start of the second round and had to accept the break straight away. Now a racquet had to believe in the Russians.
Djokovic overtakes Medvedev from Monday
So while Gael Monfils slowly but surely got into a frenzy, Medvedev didn't do anything at all. The Russian had to accept another break when the score was 0:2 - Monfils quickly pulled away to 4:0. The 35-year-old couldn't take that anymore, although Medvedev was able to shorten it with his own serve, but Monfils didn't allow anything in his service games. And fixed the 4: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 1 success with another break after a little more than two hours.
The Frenchman now meets Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16. The Spanish youngster showed a flawless performance against Roberto Bautista Agut and secured the ticket for the round of 16 in an impressive manner with 6: 2 and 6: 0. The 18-year-old has been unbeaten for eight matches, in 2022 Alcaraz only had to lose a match. It is the first duel between the Spaniard and Monfils.
It is also clear that Daniil Medvedev will have to vacate the place in the sun in the ATP charts again next Monday. The Russian should have reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells to remain at the top of the world rankings. Novak Djokovic will take this place again from Monday. For Gael Monfils it is only the second win against a reigning number one in the tennis world.
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