The WTA Semi Finals were played on Friday, but they both looked pretty tough to read.
Instead the focus is on the Saturday ATP Semi Final matches and the top two players in the World Rankings look like they will be very difficult to beat.
Things happen in sport, but this is the direction that has been taken by the Tennis Picks for Day 11 of the tournament and the reasoning can be read below.
Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: Another solid win was produced in the Quarter Final and that has continued a fine winning sequence for Daniil Medvedev, which has included a title win in Dubai.
He has suggested the courts are playing faster than usual, which has helped in his ability to perform at Indian Wells, but Medvedev will also be well aware that he still needs to find another level if he is going to beat one of the top two players in the world.
Right now it is Carlos Alcaraz who is playing as the World Number 1 should and his form this week in Indian Wells has been very strong.
Of course the Spaniard plays at this level so often that it perhaps does not make anyone sit up and take notice as they would usually, but that also means Carlos Alcaraz has been able to pick up a couple of titles already this season and he still looks the player to beat.
These two players did split the first four meetings on the Tour, but in recent times Alcaraz has been pretty comfortable in the match up and the challenge for Daniil Medvedev is to turn that momentum around.
This match is also being played in a tournament where Carlos Alcaraz has crushed Daniil Medvedev twice before in 2023 and 2024, both times in the Final rather than the Semi Final. While some believe the conditions are slightly different this year, Carlos Alcaraz will have that mental edge in the contest, as well as the fact he has won four of the five hard court matches between these two Grand Slam Champions.
Daniil Medvedev has to make the best use out of his serve if he is going to upset the odds, but will also need to serve very well to make this competitive. He has held 97% of service games played in Indian Wells this year, but you also have to factor in the opponents faced and being that comfortable against someone who returns as effectively as Carlos Alcaraz is a big ask.
The World Number 1 has also been serving really well and in the previous hard court matches between these players, Carlos Alcaraz has held 89% of service games played compared with 76% for Daniil Medvedev.
Those are numbers that cannot be ignored and the Indian Wells conditions have favoured Carlos Alcaraz who has now won the title twice and reached the Semi Final in each of the last five years.
Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Alexander Zverev: In the years ahead, you have to believe the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will join an elite list of players that have reached the Semi Final of every Masters event played.
The Big Four of the last era have been joined by Alexander Zverev and the World Number 4 is now looking to add a Major title to his list of accomplishments. There are going to be opportunities for Alexander Zverev, but the pressure is on the German to show he can beat the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz in big events.
On Saturday he has a chance to prove himself when he faces the World Number 2 in the Semi Final in Indian Wells, which has long been considered the unofficial 'fifth Slam'.
The best of three set format should provide another chance with Alexander Zverev finding it tougher to come through those big Grand Slam matches, and it is imperative that he serves well.
Outside of one troubling match, Jannik Sinner has looked supremely confident here at Indian Wells and he crushed Learner Tien in the Quarter Final.
Players of this stature are judged on how many titles they win and so it is a huge disappointment for fans of the World Number 2 that he has yet to make a Final, never mind actually winning a title.
Over the coming weeks he should get a lot closer to Carlos Alcaraz in the World Rankings, but Jannik Sinner knows that he is in an era where big titles mean so much more than World Ranking and he would be very keen to win this one in Indian Wells to remind people that there are a 'Big Two' and not just his Spanish rival coasting to title after title.
Jannik Sinner is playing well enough to win this Semi Final and he has beaten Alexander Zverev five times in a row.
Some of those matches have been really competitive where Zverev has used his serve very effectively, but the last couple of hard court defeats at the end of the 2025 season were worryingly one-sided.
In the last four hard court matches between these top four players, Alexander Zverev has only broken serve once and that is a problem for him against a quality returner like Jannik Sinner.
During the run to the Indian Wells Semi Final, Jannik Sinner has been much stronger returning than Alexander Zverev and that may show up here to set up what could be the Final that all of the fans want to see.
MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Indian Wells Update: 11-13, - 3.98 Units (24 Units Staked, - 16.58% Yield)
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