Carlos Alcaraz has claimed that there is a “target” constantly on his back after tasting his first defeat of the season against Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semi-final.
World No 1 Alcaraz had lifted the Australian Open and Qatar Open titles to start his 2026 season, and had dropped just one set on his way to a fifth straight semi-final showing in Tennis Paradise.
The Spaniard had beaten 11th seed Medvedev in back-to-back Indian Wells finals in 2023 and 2024, and held an overall 6-2 lead in their head-to-head heading into this latest contest, though he was unable to match a sublime performance from the resurgent Russian on Saturday.
Former world No 1 Medvedev looked by far and away the most comfortable in hot and gruelling conditions in the desert, and sealed a hugely impressive 6-3, 7-6(3) victory, booking a final against world No 2 Jannik Sinner.
It was one of Medvedev’s strongest performances in recent seasons, with the former US Open champion looking close to his best after challenging form in 2024 and 2025.
However, defeat for Alcaraz snapped his 16-match winning run and saw him taste defeat in the Indian Wells semi-final for the second straight season.
The Spaniard has a commanding lead at the top of the ATP Rankings and has been the dominant player in the men’s game over the past twelve months.
But, speaking in his post-match press conference on Saturday, the 22-year-old revealed he was still adjusting to life as the most targeted player on tour.
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He said: “I said it when I played against [Arthur] Rinderknech [in Round 3], for example, that what I’m just getting tired a little bit is to get that target on my back all the time. As I said, I have never seen Daniil playing like this before.
“But I have to accept it. I have to accept it, keep it going. But after everything, as I said, I just realised what I had to do and what I have to think before every match and before every tournament, and it is just playing for me, playing for my team, and for my close people.
“I’m not thinking about I need to win, or I have to win. It’s just about chasing my goals, chasing what I just set up before every tournament.
“That’s my mindset, so I’m not getting tired of the people thinking I have to win every match.”
Medvedev’s win against Alcaraz not only snapped the Spaniard’s unbeaten start to 2026, and it also snapped his own four-match losing streak against the world No 1.
The Russian had played well across his Indian Wells campaign heading into this match, though level he produced to beat Alcaraz on Sunday was arguably a step ahead of his quarter-final performance over Jack Draper.
Alcaraz joked after his third-round three-set win over 26th seed Rinderknech that he was having to play Roger Federer in every match, and admitted that he was still getting used to players raising their level when they faced him.
“Well, I mean, I’m just a little bit disappointed right now, but at the same time, I have to see the good things about this loss,” added the world No 1.
“It is about the people and the players think that they need to play like this level if they want to beat me. So at some point, it’s going to my favour in some ways.
“But obviously I have been playing great tennis. And, you know, I just show the players and show the people that if they want to beat me, they have to play at his best level one hour and a half, two hours in every match.
“So I feel good that way, but at the same time, when they play, like, at this level, it feels not that good.
“You know, I just have to accept it and keep it going, and from now on know that all the people are going to play like this, and I have to be ready for that.”
Alcaraz is set to return to action at the Miami Open next week, in the second half of the ‘Sunshine Double’ events in the US.
He memorably lifted his first Masters 1000 title at the tournament back in 2022, though he was stunned by David Goffin in the second round twelve months ago.
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