MY ACCOUNT
Daniil Medvedev is convinced Novak Djokovic will be glued to Sunday’s Australian Open final, as the men’s grand slam record goes on the line once more.
It was Medvedev who denied Djokovic a 21st singles major in the US Open final in September, inflicting a straight-sets defeat on the Serbian who was chasing a sweep of the 2021 grand slams.
Now Medvedev stands in the way of another of the ‘Big Three’, with Rafael Nadal also chasing a 21st slam and the outright lead on the all-time list.
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer each have 20 grand slam singles titles, and it remains to be seen whether any of that trio triumph again on the big stage, with Medvedev confirming himself as a leader of the upcoming generation.
The deportation of Djokovic from Australia before this tournament caused a major stir, denying the nine-time champion at Melbourne Park a run at history.
And all Djokovic can do is sit and watch from a distance, perhaps hoping for a Medvedev victory.
“I guess last time Rafa was watching near the TV, I don’t know who he was cheering for,” Medvedev said, harking back to the US Open. “But I think Novak will be watching this one in two days also.”
The mention of Djokovic in Medvedev’s on-court interview led to rumblings in the crowd, with many Australians having been glad to see him removed from the country when his visa was revoked.
When Djokovic was again mentioned in a follow-up interview with Eurosport, Medvedev said: “I’m definitely not going to think about this before or during the match. After the match, depending on the result, I’m going to think about him a little bit and about Roger probably also.”
Medvedev’s first taste of a grand slam final was against Nadal at the 2019 US Open, when the Russian lost a five-set thriller.
“We’ve played a few matches since then, and I’m ready,” Medvedev said. “I know Rafa is a very strong player and I will need to show my best to try to win this match.”
Medvedev, runner-up to Djokovic in Melbourne last year, aimed an outburst of anger towards umpire Jaume Campistol during the second set of his four-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
He was furious at Tsitsipas seemingly being coached by the Greek star’s father from the players’ box, but Medvedev quickly realised his own behaviour was unhelpful.
“I don’t think emotions, bad emotions, help me too much and when I made it, many times I lose the match because of this,” he said. “As soon as I did it, I was like, ‘That was a big mistake’.
“But I’m happy I managed to re-concentrate for the beginning of the third set.”
Having lost the second set, Medvedev snatched a crucial break at the end of the third, before cruising through the fourth to seal a 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4 6-1 victory.
Medvedev said he had felt “so dead” after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in a near five-hour marathon in the quarter-finals, but his energy has been replenished.
“I’m happy today was not five hours, so I could recover faster for the next one,” he said.
“I’m gonna play against one of the greatest, and what’s funny is again I’m going to play someone going for the 21st slam.”
Before the tussle with Nadal, Melbourne will be gripped by Ash Barty’s own pursuit of history, bidding to become the first Australian since Chris O’Neil at the 1978 tournament to land the women’s singles title.
Barty faces Danielle Collins on Saturday, and Medvedev, as is his wont, managed to rile some of Friday’s crowd by being non-committal on whether he would watch Barty, whose title match begins at 19:30 local time (08:30 GMT).
“I’m usually going to dinner at 8.15pm,” Medvedev said.
Urged by on-court interviewer Jim Courier to come up with a different answer, Medvedev added: “I’m going to watch it on my phone guys, I’m going to watch it.”
