Australian Open 2022, Quarter Finals, Wednesday, 26/01/2022
The second week of the Australian Open 2022 has it all, the elite of men’s tennis have found their top eight players! Unfortunately, looking at it through German glasses, Alexander Zverev is not among them.
In the absence of Novak Djokovic, HE therefore remains the big favourite for the title: Daniil Medvedev, who could also become the new number 1. The Russian has had fairly easy opponents so far, but that’s over now.
His quarter-final in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday brings him a duel with the number nine in the world. Will coolness win against nervousness? That’s what I try to find out in my Auger-Aliassime Medvedev tip!
His quarter-final on Tuesday night brings him a duel with the world number nine. Will coolness win out over nervousness? That’s what I try to find out in my Auger-Aliassime Medvedev tip!
Daniil Medvedev had to live with the pressure of being the top favourite in Melbourne right from the start. After his triumph at the US Open, the 25-year-old is the first contender for the trophy Down Under.
In New York a few months ago, he had dropped a single set in the entire tournament, and that record is no longer in the cards. After beating Henri Laaksonen in three sets in Round 1, Nick Kyrgios took one off him in a close match.
Botic van de Zandschulp was then beaten outright again, but Maxime Cressy in the last 16 actually became a challenging act. 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, the Russian had to fight hard.
He had already played four tiebreaks, three of which went to him. Against Cressy, he offered only one break chance, so he is hardly to be beaten on his own serve. It was only a few weeks ago that Medvedev last met Felix Auger-Aliassime.
At the ATP Cup, the No. 2 made short work of it, winning 6-4, 6-0. In general, he seems to enjoy playing against the Canadian. In the semi-finals of his US Open triumph, he disposed of him in three sets, leading 3-0 in the duel.
Despite being 2-6 down in the first set, he defeated Marin Cilic in the round of 16, grabbing a 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, a result that suits him perfectly. He had already needed all five sets against Emil Ruusuvuori in the 1st round.
Against Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina it became four, but all ended in a tiebreak. Only the more than clear 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 against Daniel Evans in round 3 astonished the tennis fans.
Auger-Aliassime always blunders when he is on the verge of winning a title. For the third time in a row, he is among the top eight players at a Grand Slam. A year ago, he was eliminated by Aslan Karatsev in the last 16 at the AO, and now another Russian could be his final stop.
My Auger-Aliassime Medvedev tip
Daniil Medvedev has dropped two sets in four matches, with his consistency that seems like a lot. The Russian wins his service games, but doesn’t convert enough break chances. It’s good that Felix Auger-Aliassime suits him.
Medvedev is his fearful opponent, but I definitely trust him to win at least one very close set.
Therefore, my guess is that there will be at least one tiebreak!
