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Stefanos Tsitsipas was unable to challenge unbeaten Daniel Medvedev for five months and celebrate qualifying for his first Grand Slam final.
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The 24-year-old Russian, continuing his excellent start to the new season, prevailed in a controlled manner 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 of the Greek champion and sealed the big match with Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final on Sunday, while notching his 20th consecutive victory on the tour!
The new No. 3 in the world rankings, he dominated in the 2nd semi-final at Rod Laver Arena, erecting a real wall on the main line against Stefanos.
With impressive serve and tremendous stability from the baseline, Medvedev was in complete control of the match and only for a short time in the middle of the 3rd set did he lose his concentration and efficiency, allowing Tsitsipas to lose heart.
Thus, he qualified for the second Grand Slam final of his career, after the US Open 2019 (loss to Nadal), where on Sunday (10: 30GR-Eurosport) will face the permanent champion of recent years in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic, in their eighth match on the tour, with the Serb leading 4-3 in victories.
The truth is that everyone expected a more ambiguous duel in the 2nd semifinal between two of the best tennis players of the new generation and highly trained.
Stefanos was coming off the epic loss to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and did not show the necessary freshness and disposition that needs demand. As in the match against the Spanish, so against Medvedev, the 22-year-old Greek tennis player was late to the match and although he showed signs of recovery in the 3rd set, motivated by the love events of the public, he could not maintain his high level, as at the same time as his opponent he displayed enviable composure and efficiency.
Especially in the first two sets, Medvedev seemed to have no problems, maintaining his service games very easily as he pressed Tsitsipas’ serve on several occasions. The Russian, No. 4 on the board, had the winning triples (28-12) from Stefanos in the first two sets and did not allow the Greek ace to threaten him with a break.
Continuing with the same strength at the start of the 3rd set, Medvedev made the break early (1-0) and seemed to be in full control, determined to close the qualifying case in all three sets.
Tsitsipas’ first break chances in the match came a little later and finally Stefanos managed to regain the break by drawing 3-3 games, astonished by the Rod Laver Arena audience. The Greek tennis player increased his performance vertically, since in the match with Nadal he pressed more intelligently and effectively, thus confusing Medvedev who initiated the unusual errors.
In fact, Stefanos came within two points of winning the 3rd set, at 0-30 while Medvedev served at 4-5 to stay in the set. However, the cold Russian kept his serve and immediately broke (6-5) with an incredible pass, forcing the audience to applaud him.
Finally, after 2 hours and 9 minutes of play, the 24-year-old completed his victory and sealed the qualification for the Melbourne final.
Source: Tennis24.gr
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