Sebastián Báez fell in straight sets to Russian Daniil Medvedev (11th) in the third round of Indian Wells, meaning there are no more Argentines left in the first Masters 1000 of the season. Medvedev, looking to continue his winning streak after his title in Dubai, won 6-4 and 6-0 after one hour and 18 minutes of play. The first set was very close, with Báez holding his own against Medvedev's pace and even creating break point opportunities. However, the Russian defended each of his problematic service games effectively and turned the tide in his favor with a single break that gave him the advantage. In the second set, Medvedev appeared much more confident against Báez, who came out completely demotivated and mentally broken. This allowed the Russian to dominate the second set, winning a commanding 6-0 to secure the victory and a spot in the quarter-finals, where he will face American Alex Michelsen. Medvedev, who was world number one at the beginning of 2022, comes off winning the ATP 500 title in Dubai and wants to put on a strong performance in Indian Wells to show he is still in the fight to compete with the best in the world. Báez, for his part, had previously defeated Taiwanese player Tseng Chun-hsin and Czech Jiri Lehecka (22nd) in the previous rounds, demonstrating a very high level. The player from Buenos Aires province achieved good consistency in 2026, reaching the final at the ATP 250 in Auckland and the semi-finals at the Argentina Open and the ATP 250 in Santiago de Chile, although his defeat in the first round of the ATP 500 in Rio caused him to drop out of the top 50 in the rankings. According to the Argentine News Agency, after Báez's defeat, there are no more Argentine players in the men's singles draw of the Indian Wells Masters 1000. The other national representative to reach this stage was Francisco Cerúndolo (19th), who was defeated by British player Jack Draper (14th) on Monday afternoon 6-1 and 7-5.
