Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev pushed each other to the limit during a recent practice session to get the blood flowing before the main event.
Djokovic is on his first trip to Indian Wells since 2019. He is a five-time champion at the BNP Paribas Open, which is a joint tournament record he holds with Roger Federer. Medvedev, for his part, is looking to go one better this year after losing last year’s final to Carlos Alcaraz.
There was no better way to fine-tune their games than to lock horns in practice. They played an intense set on a sun-kissed court in front of hundreds of tennis fans. There was no spare seat as two of the world’s best-treated fans to some exciting all-court action.
Medvedev recently dropped to World No. 4 and is coming off a semifinal run in Dubai. The Russian was a runner-up at this year’s Australian Open, the tournament where Djokovic lost in the semifinal and relinquished his title to Jannik Sinner.
It was Medvedev who came under pressure midway through the set, needing to save multiple break points to hold for 3-2. Djokovic was holding serve relatively easily with his ability to pick his spots and outsmart Medvedev with his sharp movement.
However, the Serb played a poor 10th game to concede the set, making a backhand error and then playing firing a forehand long. To compound matters, Djokovic attempted a drop shot at 15-30 down, which didn’t reach the other side of the net.
Medvedev then drew another error out of Djokovic’s racket to win the set 6-4. Both players’ coaches were watching (Goran Ivanisevic can be seen supervising the 24-time Grand Slam champion).
It was the perfect prep for the pair, who are expected to meet each other in the semifinal of the tournament if seedings hold. The condensed highlights of the set can be seen below.
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