Daniil Medvedev has impressed during the opening rounds at Indian Wells as he looks to make history in the Californian desert.
The Russian ATP star had struggled during the early stages of his 2025 campaign, suffering several shock defeats to lower-ranked opponents.
Medvedev’s loss to Learner Tien at the Australian Open was a particularly tough result to take, having reached the final in Melbourne one year earlier.
Traveling to the United States, Medvedev immediately found success at the year’s first Masters 1000 tournament.
In his opening match, Medvedev beat Yunchaokete Bu in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, advancing to the third round at Indian Wells for the seventh time in his career.
There the 29-year-old benefited from Alex Michelsen’s misfortune as the American retired due to illness after just two games of their third-round clash.
Facing a tough test against home favorite Tommy Paul, Medvedev more than rose to the occasion, easing into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-0 win.
Dropping just ten games in his first three matches, the world number six looks in good shape to win Indian Wells, and potentially write his name into the history books.
Daniil Medvedev would become first player under 30 to win every hard court Masters title with Indian Wells win
If Medvedev were to win the title at Indian Wells he would become the first player under the age of 30 to win all six available hard court Masters 1000 titles.
- Indian Wells – QF*
- Miami Open – Won (2023)
- Canadian Open – Won (2021)
- Cincinnati Open – Won (2019)
- Shanghai Masters – Won (2019)
- Paris Masters – Won (2020)
The Russian star has now lost two consecutive finals in California, falling to defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in both 2023, and 2024.
A title in 2025 would see Medvedev become just the fourth player in the history of the ATP Tour to win every available Masters 1000 title on hard courts.
| Player | Age completed | Title won to win surface sweep |
| Daniil Medvedev* | 29* | Indian Wells* |
| Roger Federer | 30 | Paris Masters |
| Novak Djokovic | 31 | Cincinnati Open |
| Andre Agassi | 32 | Madrid Open |
The achievement would be an impressive one, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andre Agassi as the only players to have done so.
If he can continue the form he showed against Paul in his last match, it wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see Medvedev lift the title at Indian Wells.
Is Daniil Medvedev the favorite to win Indian Wells in 2025?
Former American star Sam Querrey picked Medvedev to win Indian Wells recently, a prediction that is looking more and more accurate by the day.
The Russian does look in great shape to advance to the final as the only top-ten seed left in his half of the draw.
2025 Indian Wells ‘top half’ semi-finals
- QF 1 – Tallon Griekspoor v [12] Holger Rune
- QF 2 – [20] Arthur Fils v [5] Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev will take on 20-year-old Arthur Fils for a place in the semi-finals, the man he beat in their one previous encounter at the Vienna Open in 2023.
A win against Fils could set up a semi-final clash with either Holger Rune or Tallon Griekspoor, who both hold wins over the former world number one.
Reaching the final would be no easy task, but there would likely be his toughest task of all, as a potential third Indian Wells clash with Alcaraz could await him.
The Spaniard made light work of his first two opponents, beating Quentin Halys and Denis Shapovalov without too much trouble.
Only time will tell if Alcaraz and Medvedev are to face off in a third straight Indian Wells final, but they’ll first focus on their next matches, as the Spaniard takes on Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round before the Russian plays Fils in the quarter-finals.
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