MELBOURNE, Feb 19: Daniil Medvedev simply does not lose right now. Not to Top 10 opponents. Not to anyone, really. Certainly not to a drained Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semifinals.
Now let’s see what happens against Novak Djokovic in Rod Laver Arena.
Medvedev made it to his second Grand Slam final as he pursues his first major championship, overwhelming fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Friday at Melbourne Park to run his winning streak to 20 matches.
That includes a dozen victories against members of the Top 10.
Tsitsipas, a 22-year-old from Greece, came out flat, looking drained after an epic four-hour victory over Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals Wednesday, coming back from a two-set deficit.
Still, Medvedev was terrific, getting broken just once and accruing 17 aces among his 46 winners.
That latter total featured a backhand pass he flipped down the line after sprinting into a slide for a break in the next-to-last game, a spectacular effort Medvedev celebrated by raising both arms and waving his hands in a gesture that told the world, “Check me out!”
In Sunday’s final, the No. 4-seeded Medvedev will take on No. 1 Djokovic, who already owns eight Australian Open titles among his 17 Grand Slam trophies as he tries to gain on the men’s record of 20 shared by Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic, who won his semifinal against 114th-ranked Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev on Thursday, is a combined 17-0 in semifinals and finals at Melbourne Park.
Medvedev was the runner-up to Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open.
It took just 75 minutes for Medvedev to grab a two-set lead against Tsitsipas.
He went up 3-1 in the third before Tsitsipas made things a tad more interesting, if only briefly, by taking three games in a row, including his only break of the match.
But Medvedev, his baseline defense exquisite, proved too tough.
Earlier, down a set and a break in the second, Tsitsipas sat down at a changeover and chucked an open water bottle, causing a splash on the court that forced ball kids to scramble for towels to wipe up the mess. The petulant scene drew a side-eye from Medvedev.
Early in the third set, Medvedev told chair umpire James Keothavong that Tsitsipas’ father, who also coaches him, “is talking way too much” from the stands.
Tsitsipas and Medvedev already have a bit of an uncomfortable history, dating to their first meeting on tour at the 2018 Miami Open.
Medvedev won that one — he started their rivalry with a 5-0 edge, although Tsitsipas claimed the most recent matchup before Friday’s — and it ended with some verbal volleying.
They tried to smooth things over through the media in recent days, including Tsitsipas backtracking from denigrating the Russian’s style of play.
Melbourne has a sizable Greek population, and Tsitsipas got a much warmer greeting, replete with flapping blue-and-white flags, when he arrived at the court; Medvedev actually heard some jeers.
Attendance at the stadium was capped at 50% capacity — about 7,500 — when fans were allowed to return to the tournament after being barred for five days during a local lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases.
As much as the crowd tried to boost Tsitsipas, he never really got going until that late push that ultimately led nowhere. (AP)
