As far as box-office matchups go, it doesn’t get much better than Daniil Medvedev versus Carlos Alcaraz in the BNP Paribas Open final. These are two of the best players on the planet, and they couldn’t possibly be meeting at a better time.
Medvedev came into this event after having won three titles in as many weeks, and he’ll now look to make the ultimate statement by beating one of the top players in the world on one of the biggest stages in the sport. There are some great narratives at play coming into this match. The problem is that there might be a little too much leaning in Alcaraz’s favor at this event.
It shouldn’t be surprising when Medvedev reaches a final considering the way he’s playing, but there were reasons to doubt him at Indian Wells. This tournament plays a lot like a clay-court event, and clay is Medvedev’s worse surface by a significant margin. The Russian has openly criticized the court conditions this week. That makes it even more impressive that he is in the final, especially with his last three wins coming against tough opponents in Alexander Zverev, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Frances Tiafoe. It does, however, seem like this is when Medvedev’s luck will run out.
