Alcaraz was avenged by Medvedev, who ended his historic season-opening winning streak?

The lineup for the Indian Wells Masters men's singles final has been determined, and a new tournament champion will ultimately emerge. Two-time tournament champion Alcaraz arrived with a season-opening winning streak, but was avenged by the exceptionally performing Medvedev, who had previously lost to him twice in finals, stopping him in the semifinals again after last year, which is regrettable.

So, how have ATP new-season winning streaks been ended so far? Let's see:

Djokovic's 41-win streak in the 2011 season --- lost to Federer in the French Open semifinals

Looking back at the record Djokovic created at that time still evokes respect and feels unreal. Even Nadal on clay Masters couldn't stop this giant who reemerged after three years, but ultimately in a tough battle in the French Open semifinals, Federer surprisingly emerged victorious, and the Swiss shaking his finger after winning became a historical classic.

McEnroe's 39-win streak in the 1984 season --- lost to Lendl in the French Open final (the Australian Open was held at the end of the year then)

Bjorn Borg's 26-win streak in the 1980 season --- lost to Vilas in the DUESSELDORF semifinals

Djokovic's 26-win streak in the 2020 season --- lost to Carreño Busta in the US Open fourth round (default)

Lendl's 25-win streak in the 1986 season --- lost to Becker in the Chicago final (the Australian Open was held at the end of the year then)

Several legendary players from earlier eras also existed like gods, surpassing the two giants Federer and Nadal in this record, while Djokovic was quite unfortunate; that year, due to accidentally "hitting" a line judge, he was defaulted, making people sigh. If not for that, whether the first men's singles Grand Slam champion from the post-90s generation would have emerged remains unknown.

Nadal's 20-win streak in the 2022 season --- lost to Fritz in the Indian Wells Masters final

McEnroe's 19-win streak in the 1985 season --- lost to Nystrom in the Dallas quarterfinals

Connors' 17-win streak in the 1980 season --- lost to Amritraj in the Salisbury group stage

Sampras' 17-win streak in the 1997 season --- lost to Ullah in the Indian Wells second round

Djokovic's 17-win streak in the 2013 season --- lost to del Potro in the Indian Wells semifinals

Federer's 17-win streak in the 2018 season --- lost to del Potro in the Indian Wells final

Neither Federer nor Nadal achieved a season-opening winning streak of 20+, and both were ended in the Indian Wells Masters final, mainly because they didn't participate frequently early in the season. Coincidentally, del Potro, who won his only Masters title, ended the winning streaks of the two kings Djokovic and Federer on his fortunate ground five years apart, while Sampras exiting in the second round in the "Desert Oasis" was quite surprising.

Rod Laver's 16-win streak in the 1972 season --- lost to Ruffels in the Hollywood first round

Federer's 16-win streak in the 2006 season --- lost to Nadal in the Dubai final

Sinner's 16-win streak in the 2024 season --- lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semifinals

Alcaraz's 16-win streak in the 2026 season --- lost to Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinals

Although Alcaraz's record was ended, he equaled his old rival Sinner and can already match peak natural-year Laver and Federer, but has his peak natural year not yet arrived? (Source: Tennis Home Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)