Tennis matches can turn on a single point, and the Indian Wells final turned on seven of them. Jannik Sinner, trailing 4-0 in the second-set tiebreak against Daniil Medvedev, produced a sequence of seven consecutive points to win the match 7-6(6), 7-6(4) and claim the title.
Sinner had been immovable throughout the tournament, dropping no sets and conceding no break points in the final. But it was in the second tiebreak, under maximum pressure, that he showed the qualities that define genuine greatness.
Medvedev had come to Indian Wells intent on causing a major upset, and he came closer than any other player in the draw. His flat, aggressive tennis troubled Sinner far more than any previous opponent, and his commanding position in the tiebreak seemed to have shifted the momentum decisively.
But champions find a way, and Sinner found his in the most spectacular fashion. His seven-point run from 4-0 down is one of the finest comeback sequences in a recent Grand Masters final and will be replayed and discussed long after the tournament has ended.
Sabalenka’s women’s title added to the drama of finals day, with the world number one similarly required to overcome adversity. Trailing Rybakina by a set and a break, she fought back magnificently to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), saving a match point in the deciding tiebreak.