The stage is set for the final of the 2021 Australian Open Men’s singles, as fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia beat sixth-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, in Melbourne, on Friday. It was a straight-set win: 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. Medvedev has now qualified for his maiden AO final, besides this being only his second career Grand Slam final appearance, having done previously only during the 2019 US Open.
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The Russian was into the grove right from the first set. He was in an attacking mood, as the Greek tried to get into long rallies, especially by primarily relying on his backhand. However, Medvedev ensured to hit some passing shots and winners, which only further frustrated Tsitsipas.
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Although Tsitsipas received the crowd’s significant support, Medvedev switched more to his backhand winners towards each set’s end. While the Greek was entirely outplayed in the second, as the Russian earned a double break to win it, Tsitsipas was just starting to get into the groove in the third set.
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Nonetheless, Medvedev forced Tsitsipas to commit a backhand error and capitalised on it to win the match. The Russian tried to exploit the Greek’s weak backhand corner throughout, while the former relied majorly on cross-court backhand rallies.
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“It was definitely not easy because we saw the match with Rafa was kind of the same score after two sets. The third set, Rafa was dominating, but didn’t manage to win the match, so I got a little bit scared and tight. It is the semi-final of a Slam. It was not easy, but I am happy I managed to switch my game on, especially in some tight moments on my serve and I am really happy to be in the final,” said Medvedev after the game.
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Medvedev would now look to become the first player to beat Djokovic in an AO final. Although Djokovic is marginally ahead (4-3) in head-to-head, he suffered a defeat to the Russian during the ATP Finals last year, which would undoubtedly put the latter at a tender advantage.
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”I like that I don’t have a lot of pressure because he never lost in the eight times that he was here in the final. It is he who has all the pressure, getting to Roger and Rafa in the Grand Slam. I just hope that I am going to get out there and show my best tennis. As we have seen, I can beat some big names if I play good, so that is the main part. He has more experience, but he has more things to lose than me,” concluded Medvedev.
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