Daniil Medvedev makes a scathing assessment on the speed of new Indian Wells courts

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the fourth round at the 2025 Indian Wells after Alex Michelsen was forced to retire.

Daniil Medvedev makes a scathing assessment on the speed of new Indian Wells courts

Daniil Medvedev (via X)

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the fourth round at the 2025 Indian Wells Open after Alex Michelsen was forced to retire just 10 minutes into their maiden meeting on Sunday due to illness. The Russian took a medical timeout himself to deal with a nosebleed in the second game just six minutes into the match, but upon resumption at 0-2, Michelsen decided to call it quits. Medvedev later relayed that his opponent was likely suffering from food poisoning.

During the post-match press conference, Medvedev once again spoke about the new court surface, reiterating how slow it is. The new surface has become a major discussion since the tournament started, with several players complaining about the court being too fast and yet to get used to it.

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I don’t notice any difference, but if I had to say something, I would say it’s even slower than before. It’s hard to say this because we know it’s already the slowest on the circuit, but every year we return, we forget how slow it was last time. It’s slow beyond what the speed index or any parameter says. It’s slow no matter what people say; you can see in the matches how players strive to make a winning shot. It’s very slow, but I feel I can play well here.

Daniil Medvedev via Indian Wells Press Conference

However, Medvedev feels contrary to what many other players have expressed. Medvedev even penned a cheeky jab at Carlos Alcaraz, as the Russian wrote on the camera lens, “6-2, 6-2, 1h 36m, very fast court [happy face],” after winning his opening round match against Yunchaokete Bu.

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Later, after the match, he playfully suggested the court was the exact opposite, calling it ‘the slowest court I’ve ever played in my life.’ The world No. 5’s response comes after Alcaraz questioned the decision of Indian Wells officials to lay down a new court surface before the tournament. Players had reported experiencing the ball moving faster than they were used to after the new surface had been put in place.

Daniil Medvedev will face Tommy Paul in the fourth round of the Indian Wells

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev will face 10th seed Tommy Paul in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters. This marks the fifth meeting between both players. While Medvedev leads their head-to-head 3-1, it was Paul who won their most recent meeting at the Round of 16 of the 2024 Rome Masters.

Daniil Medvedev Indian Wells 2025
Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells 2025 (via X)

The winner of their match will play either Arthur Fils or Marcos Giron in the quarterfinal. The Indian Wells Masters is the only hard-court Masters yet to be won by Medvedev.

Though the Russian made it to the final in 2023 and 2024, he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets on both occasions. The Spaniard is now aiming for a three-peat at the Indian Wells, a feat which has only been accomplished by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic so far.