Australian Open: Novak Djokovic Weighs the Pressure, Says Daniil Medvedev Ahead of Men’s Singles Final | Tennis news

Novak Djokovic leads heads-up against Daniil Medvedev 4-3

Novak Djokovic has all the pressure when he aims for a ninth Australian Open title and a record 18 Grand Slam, says Daniil Medvedev before Sunday’s final.

Defending champion and top seed Djokovic has never lost in his previous eight finals at Rod Laver Arena, where he has won seven of the last 10 editions.

The victory against Medvedev would move the Serb just two behind male record holders Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for Grand Slam titles.

Medvedev, meanwhile, is in his second Grand Slam final, having lost to Rafael Nadal in five exciting sets at the US Open in 2019, but has a 20-match winning streak in singles since November.

The fifth seed is the third Russian men’s to reach multiple Grand Slam men’s singles finals and the youngest men’s finalist at the Australian Open since Djokovic won in 2012.

Djokovic, who has won 81 of his 89 matches at Melbourne Park, has not had an easy path to the final.

He feared that his title defense was over after fighting injury in a five-set win against American Taylor Fritz. The 33-year-old said in his post-game press conference that he suspected he had a torn abdominal muscle.

However, he allayed injury fears to beat Milos Raonic in the fourth round, before backing up a high-quality performance against Alexander Zverev with a masterclass against Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev to reach the final.

“This is the best I have felt in the whole tournament. I felt great, I was able to go through the ball without pain,” said Djokovic after the victory against the world number 114.

“It was my best match so far and it came at the right time. I’m excited.”

While Djokovic has lost five sets on his way to the masterpiece, Medvedev has lost just two to another Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the third round.

Back-to-back victories against compatriot Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who knocked out Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, have led Medvedev to 12 wins against top-10 opponents in his last 20 matches.

Speaking on the court after beating Tsitsipas, Medvedev said: “It is he (Djokovic) who has all the pressure. I just hope I can come out, show my best tennis. He sure has more experience but more things to do. Lose.”

In his post-match press conference, he added: “I have nothing to lose, to be honest.”

Medvedev put on an impressive display to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals

Face to face record

Djokovic has won four of the previous seven meetings with Medvedev, but in his most recent meeting, the Russian beat the world number one in the free-for-all format of the ATP Finals on his way to winning the title in London in November. last.

Medvedev will be more confident in Sunday’s game if he remembers his victory against Djokovic on his way to the title at the Cincinnati Masters in the run-up to his run to the US Open final in 2019.

The 25-year-old Russian rallied from a set down to beat the defending champion in the Masters 1000 tournament in a similar way Medvedev is currently enjoying.

The pair also previously met at the Australian Open in early 2019 when Djokovic prevailed after four sets in the fourth round on his way to a seventh success in Melbourne.

‘I’m going to make them move’ – Djokovic warns Next Gen

Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2008

An optimistic Djokovic insisted before Medvedev’s win against Tsitsipas that the next generation of talents in men’s sports still “have a lot of work to do” to secure Grand Slam titles.

“The pressure is always there, it is part of what we do. But the pressure is also a privilege. It means that you are in the mix, that you are still doing something that is important, valuable to you and the rest of the tennis world.” Djokovic said Eurosport.

“There has been a lot of talk that the new generation will come and take care of the three of us, but realistically, that is not happening yet.

“We can talk about it all day, but with all my respect for the other guys, they still have a lot of work to do.

“Of course Dominic Thiem to win a Grand Slam title is fantastic. These guys are very strong, they play high quality tennis, no doubt.

“They will certainly be the leaders of the future of tennis, without a doubt, but I’m not going to stand here and hand it over to them. I’m going to make them try very hard.”

In response, Medvedev says that Djokovic’s warning does not spur him more than motivation to land a revolutionary Grand Slam title.

“I would say that winning a slam, especially against someone like Novak, is already a great motivation, and I don’t think there is anything that can make it bigger,” he said.

“I like Novak. I appreciate him as a tennis player. And I should say it as a person. So I don’t take these words for sure as a negative. As I say, I’m quite motivated without those words.”

Medvedev’s belief in a Slam advance

Medvedev plans to draw on the lessons learned from the final US Open 2019 loss to Nadal to help him through Sunday’s big moments.

“For me, it’s about experience. I already played a Grand Slam final, it sure was tight in many moments there,” he said.

“Sometimes it helped me, sometimes it didn’t. So I know what Sunday is like and what it will be like. So experience is the key.”

Meanwhile, semi-finalist Tsitsipas believes Medvedev has everything in his game to win the title.

The Greek said, “Let me tell you, he is a player who has unlocked almost everything in the game. It is as if he is reading the game very well …

“He cheats on you. You know, he plays the game very smart. It’s really interesting to see that.”

Follow match-by-match updates from Sunday’s final on our blog live from around 8.15am (GMT).

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