Los Angeles, 16 March 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Jannik Sinner claimed his first title of the year with victory over Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.

The four-time grand slam champion had had a slightly underwhelming start to the season by his stratospheric standards but he was peerless in the Californian desert, not dropping a set through the fortnight.

A tight, high-quality encounter against a resurgent Medvedev looked like it would head to a decider when the Russian went 4-0 up in the second-set tie-break but Sinner reeled off seven points in a row to clinch a 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4) victory.

His first title at the BNP Paribas Open means Sinner has completed the set of all the biggest titles on hard courts, winning the Australian Open, US Open, ATP Finals and all six Masters 1000 events.

The 24-year-old told Sky Sports: "It has been a very, very tough tournament. In my mind I knew it was the only hard-court tournament of the big ones I hadn’t won so I'm very happy about how I handled it. Seeing Daniil playing again this level, it's important for tennis."

He is also the only player to win back-to-back titles at Masters level – the pinnacle of the ATP Tour – without dropping a set having done the same in Paris at the end of last season.

Medvedev was bidding to join Novak Djokovic by beating Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner at the same tournament, and he brought the same aggressive, precision tennis that had seen him stun the world number one in Saturday's semi-finals.

But Sinner served superbly in scorching conditions, not facing a break point throughout the match, and managed to come out on top in the crunch moments.

The consolation for Medvedev, who was close to missing the tournament after he was caught up in the travel chaos in the Middle East, is that he will return to the top 10 on Monday.

Photo: EPA