Djokovic has more to lose, says final opponent Medvedev

Russian Daniil Medvedev celebrating after silencing Greek fans at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 demolition of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semi-final yesterday.
Russian Daniil Medvedev celebrating after silencing Greek fans at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 demolition of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semi-final yesterday. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

MELBOURNE • Russia's Daniil Medvedev insisted the pressure in the Australian Open final would be all on Novak Djokovic after he breezed past Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the semi-finals yesterday.

Medvedev, into his second Grand Slam title decider on the back of a 20-match winning streak, said the world No. 1 has "more things to lose" tomorrow.

Djokovic, with 17 Major titles, has won all eight of his Australian Open finals and is looking to close the gap on the record of 20 Slam trophies held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"I like that I don't have a lot of pressure because he never lost in eight times that he was here in the final," said the world No. 4 Medvedev, after progressing to his first Melbourne Park final with an impressive 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Tsitsipas.

"So it's him who has all the pressure, getting to Roger and Rafa in the Grand Slams (list)... For sure he has more experience, but more things to lose."

He has now beaten 12 top-10 players and lifted three trophies during his winning run. The only current top-10 player he failed to beat was Federer, who is sidelined by injury.

He has also won three of his last four meetings with Djokovic.

Medvedev has dropped just two sets en route to the final - both against Serb Filip Krajinovic in the third round - and was dominant again in front of more than 7,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena yesterday.

He served like a machine until he was broken in the third set, which brought Greek fans in the terraces back to life as Tsitsipas roared back to a 5-4 lead.

But the 25-year-old Russian silenced the crowd with the decisive break in the 11th game. After sending a blazing backhand passing shot down the line, he waved his arms at the terraces, happy to play the villain in an echo of his run to the 2019 US Open final. He closed out the match with a 208kmh second serve that Tsitsipas could only chop short, allowing Medvedev to jog forward and fire the winning forehand.

The Russian finished with 17 aces and won 88 per cent of points behind his first serve. He conjured 46 winners against 21 unforced errors. Tsitsipas, in contrast, had 19 winners and 30 unforced errors.

The Greek said Medvedev has all the weapons to dethrone Djokovic.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see Daniil win the tournament," said the fifth seed.

He had once described Medvedev's playing style as "boring", but he has changed his opinion after being on the end of an authoritative masterclass that neutralised his attacking skills.

"He's a player who has unlocked pretty much everything in the game," added the 22-year-old. "It's like he's reading the game really well. He has this amazing serve which I would describe as being close to John Isner's serve.

"And then he has amazing baseline (ability) which makes it extremely difficult... He tricks you. You know, he plays the game really smart."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 20, 2021, with the headline Djokovic has more to lose, says final opponent Medvedev. Subscribe