Daniil Medvedev refuted the ‘cheating’ allegations against him in light of the controversial hindrance call in his match against Jack Draper at Indian Wells 2026. The two met in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. The Russian bagged the opening set with ease but a breakthrough in the second set was proving to be difficult.
The match took a dramatic turn in the 11th game of the second set, with the score at 5-5 and Draper serving. The latter lost the first point of the game to fall behind 0-15. During the next point, he inadvertently raised his arms after returning a shot. The rally continued for a while, until Medvedev lost the point by hitting into the net.
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Medvedev then asked the umpire for a video review, stating he was distracted by Draper raising his arms in the middle of the point. His request was granted, and he was awarded the point after the umpire deemed the Brit’s act as a hindrance. Medvedev won the game, and shortly afterwards, the match as well.
The incident left everyone divided, with some billing Medvedev as a cheat. He didn’t take kindly to those allegations, and cleared the air during his post-match press conference. While he didn’t feel good about how it all went down, he certainly wouldn’t consider his actions within the ambit of cheating. In the end, it was the umpire’s call, and he was happy to have one of those in his favor for a change.
“So as I say, was I distracted big time? No. Do I feel good about it? Not really. But I also don’t feel like I cheated or something. So I got a bit distracted. I let it go, I let the referee decide. I had a lot of calls against me in my life, and I usually don’t handle them well. To get one on my side, I guess feels good as well,” Medevdev said.
Medvedev’s 6-1, 7-5 win over Draper meant he advanced to the semifinals at Indian Wells without losing a set. He will face his toughest test of the season in the next round, with Carlos Alcaraz waiting for him in the semifinals.
Daniil Medvedev will face Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells 2026 semifinals
Daniil Medvedev will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open 2026 at Indian Wells on Saturday, March 14. Both are among the season’s most in-form players. Medvedev has won two titles this year, and has also won his last eight matches starting with his title-winning run in Dubai.
Alcaraz hasn’t lost a match all year, compiling a 16-0 record so far. He won the Australian Open to complete the Career Grand Slam, and then won the Qatar Open as well. He’s a two-time Indian Wells champion, beating Medvedev in the 2023 and 2024 finals.
Alcaraz leads their rivalry 6-2, and has won their last four matches. They surprisingly didn’t meet last year, with their most recent encounter taking place at the China Open 2024. The winner will face either Jannik Sinner or Alexander Zverev in the Indian Wells final.
Edited by Rohit
