Sinner, on Medvedev: “Tennis needs him”

Jannik Sinner has achieved a historic victory against Daniil Medvedev at the 2026 Indian Wells Masters 1000, allowing him to complete his list of major hard court tournaments. Subsequently, the Italian tennis player attended a press conference where he praised the level of the Russian player and emphasized that the sport needs him.

Sinner had to really fight to defeat Medvedev in two tight tie-breaks, which further shows that Medvedev’s level is approaching that of the player who reached the top of tennis. Furthermore, Jannik also mentioned the significance of winning his first title of 2026, with his mind already focused on Miami to continue narrowing the points gap with Carlos Alcaraz in the fight for ATP number one ranking.

Full press conference of Jannik Sinner after winning Indian Wells 2026

Final against Medvedev

Yes, it’s an incredible feeling, a great achievement. Today’s match was very tough, so I’m very happy with how I handled the situation on the court. It’s great to see Daniil back playing at this level. Yes, and I’m very, very happy. I think he’s playing fantastic tennis. He had a lot of confidence after winning a couple of titles this year, and here he played very well.

We must not forget that he is a Grand Slam champion, and that says something. He played fantastic tennis, served very well, and I had difficulties in returning, especially on his second service. I believe tennis needs him. He has a very unique style of play. Seeing him back at this level is great. He’s improving a lot. He is a very aggressive player and has two different playing styles when serving and when returning. It’s great for the sport to have him back playing at this level.

First title of 2026

I’m very happy. They are fantastic results anyway, reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam. And after Australia, this was the first major tournament. It has been a fantastic week. You know, we tried to get here very early. I knew this was a tournament I hadn’t won, so I wanted to come here and prepare myself in the best possible way, in the most professional manner. Achieving this now means a lot to me. I now have a couple of days to relax, and there is not much time between this tournament and Miami. Again, there is a significant tournament in Miami, and we will try to play the best tennis possible there as well, and then we will see how it goes.

High temperatures during the match

Yes, it was hot, but there was no humidity, so that makes a big difference. But, look, I’ve been here a week before the tournament started. The conditions were very similar to today’s. We had very long training days. I felt very well prepared, so I had no major problems with the weather and the heat, which is very positive for me. It’s all part of the process we are trying to carry out to become the best athletes possible. We certainly work a lot in the gym to be able to play at this level, so I’m very happy.

Objective Roland Garros?

First of all, Roland Garros is far away. There are very, very important tournaments before that. I know what’s at stake before that as well. I’m already very focused on Miami, as I said. Now, for a couple of days, it’s also good not to think too much about tennis, but when you have this rhythm, I also don’t want to lose it. Miami will be very important. It’s the last hard court tournament before the clay season begins. And then we go back to Europe, with completely different conditions, clay courts, and you never know what will happen there. I’m looking forward to it. We will try to perform at our best, and then we will see how it goes.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner, sobre Medvedev: “El tenis le necesita”