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Daniil Medvedev's story has come a full circle with the events of last 12 months as he reached the Australian Open final on Friday (January 28), a year after he had reached his first-ever major final, also at the Melbourne Park. In a four-set thriller, Medvedev dispatched Rolland Garros runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. He will now face the 2009 champion, Rafael Nadal, on Sunday (January 30) to determine who wins the first Grand Slam of the year.
Medvedev shines bright in Australian summer
It was the pair’s ninth meeting, with Medvedev leading 6-2 from their previous eight encounters. With history on his side, the Russian was full of confidence and could have won the set before the tiebreaker as he lost four break points. The second set though was evenly matched as the Greek pulled out some terrific forehands, when presented with the opportunity to break Medvedev, Tsitsipas didn't hesitate as he won both the break points and eventually the set.
The third set was evenly poised as both Medvedev and Tsitsipas had control over their serve, but it was the tenth game of the fourth set, where the Russian raised his game to break the French Open runner-up. With the ball in his hand, Medvedev made no mistake to take the set and lead 2-1. Things only got better for the US Open champion as he rallied through the fourth set in ease unleashing his forehand, while there was no gas left in Tsitsipas' tank. Medvedev will look to go one better this time, as he will now play in his second consecutive Australian Open final.
Could history repeat?
The last Russian to reach the Australian Open final was Marat Safin in 2005 when he beat home favourite, Lleyton Hewitt, in the final. Like Medvedev, Safin also lost in the final a year before to Thomas Johansson of Sweden. So a win on Sunday will see him become the first Russian in 17 years to win the Australian Open and repeat the history.
Third final in 12 months
The Sunday showdown will be Medvedev's third final in 12 months at a major tournament. He played in the final last year losing to nine-time champion Novak Djokovic in three straight sets. But revenge was served nicely in New York as Medvedev prevented the world no. 1 from winning a Grand Slam by winning the US Open. Interestingly, he could have faced the defending champion, but after he was deported for not having the vaccine jab, it will be Nadal who awaits him in the final.
Post-match thoughts
“Some matches are very even,” Medvedev said in the post-match.
“I missed some balls at a few moments where I could have got a break and he missed a few at the start of the third set. Then from 5-4 in the third [set] I just found some momentum and started to read his serve and put every ball in. I hit some very important passing shots and his energy went down because of this and my energy went up,” the second seed concluded.
