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In his second final in a Grand Slam tournament, Daniil MedvedevThe 25-year-old, owner of a versatile and consistent shoe, had a chance. He made a high-level first set and opened the second set with a break advantage. Novak Djokovichowever, it was on another level. The world number 1 was brilliant in all the important moments, closed the door to any reaction from the Russian rival and, to 7/5, 6/2 and 6/2, won his ninth title at the Australian Open.
In addition to maintaining his unbeaten record in nine finals in Melbourne, Djokovic took another step in the “race” against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for won slam titles. Swiss and Spanish are the greatest champions in history, in simple terms, with 20 titles each. The Serbian now has 18.
For Medvedev, Sunday’s loss means the end of a 20-win streak. Champion of the Masters 1000 in Paris, the ATP Finals and the ATP Cup, the Russian defeated 12 top 10 tennis players in the period, including Djokovic himself in a tournament valid match in London with the best eight of 2020. Daniil has not He suffered a defeat since the ATP 500 in Vienna in October.
Nole, on the other hand, extends his winning streak over the top 10 opponents at the Australian Open to 12. He has not lost to a top ten in Melbourne since 2014, when he was defeated by Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. The Swiss was the champion of the tournament that year.
As a step
Medvedev’s start was nervous. In the second game, the Russian missed three unforced rights and ended up giving up a break in serve. Little by little, however, the challenger was reducing his number of errors and, after winning a long ball exchange, he conquered two opportunities to break in the fifth game. It was Djokovic’s turn to fail. The number 1 threw a big hit on the net and also missed the serve. The duel continued balanced, with no break points, until Game 12, when Nole played perfect points and won three break points. Medvedev saved the first two, but threw an unforced right to the net and saw the world number 1 celebrate the victory in the set: 7/5.
The second split started hot, with Medvedev breaking Djokovic’s serve, but the Serb again found a spectacular level of tennis when he needed it. In the next game, he made spectacular returns, forced the Russian to play long points and also forced the challenger’s mistakes. The break, followed by a match in which Nole left 15/30 to confirm service, affected the dynamics of the game. Medvedev began to force the game more and consequently his number of errors increased. The world’s number one, then, was relentless. He scored another break in the fourth game and opened 4/1.
Little by little, Djokovic closed all the doors to a reaction from the Russian. In the seventh game, he won a net kick when he tied 0/15. Later, with the score “even”, he fired two consecutive winners to confirm the service. With Medvedev tying 2/5, Nole made an excellent return and broke again, making 6/2.
Djokovic’s performance continued to frustrate the Russian for the rest of the match. Again flawless in a delicate situation, Nole came off two more break points in the first game of the third set. As a result, it was obvious how shocked the Russian was. Medvedev committed two double faults, missed a pair of exchanges and lost his serve again. With two sets up front and a break lead, the world No. 1 had the game in hand, but the Russian still had a slim chance. With 4/2 on the scoreboard, Daniil played two big points and had 15/30 on Nole’s serve. Djokovic then played three perfect points to confirm serve and further frustrate his opponent. It was Medvedev’s last chance.
What does it mean
This Sunday’s performance, with Djokovic’s most brilliant punts at this Australian Open, proves once again that the Serbian is still the man to beat in men’s tennis today. Medvedev reached the final fit, motivated and confident, coming off 20 wins in a row (12 against the top 10), and the world number one tactically, technically and mentally disarmed and destroyed his opponent during the 113 minutes of the final.
The achievement of a tennis player who suffered an abdominal injury in the first week also shows the determination of a Djokovic who, it seems, will not settle until he surpasses the number of titles of Federer and Nadal. A Nole who is a constant threat to Rafa at Roland Garros and who has already knocked down Roger at Wimbledon several times. A Djokovic who, at 33, shows no clear signs of decline.
And if the numbers already cited in this text already give a beautiful dimension of the size of Novak for tennis, here are two more: 1) with the victory this Sunday, he becomes the first tennis player of the Open Era (since 1968) to conquer the Australian Open three times after age 30; and 2) Djokovic now has six slam titles won after 30. Nobody won more after 30 than him and Nadal, who share this record.
No ranking
The title does not change anything for the moment for Djokovic, who would not lose the 2,000 points won last year by the ranking freeze. It will continue as world number one at least until March 8, when it will reach 311 weeks at the top of the list and break Roger Federer’s record, which was the first in the ranking for 310 weeks.
For Medvedev, the Melbourne campaign means a new professional brand. For the first time, he will be number 3 in the world, leaving Austrian Dominic Thiem behind. The Russian will also be only 115 points behind Rafael Nadal, current vice leader.
1. Novak Djokovic – 12,030 points
2. Rafael Nadal – 9,850
3. Daniil Medvedev: 9,735
4. Dominic Thiem – 9,125
5. Roger Federer – 6,630
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