Australian Open 2022, Final, Sunday, 30.01.2022
Two weeks of top-class tennis are over, now Melbourne is waiting for the absolute highlight. At 09:30 German time, it’s time for the Australian Open 2022 to culminate in a final that couldn’t have been more exciting!
If one of them wins, he will be the new world number 1. If the other celebrates, he will have broken a fabulous record. The bookmakers? They are backing the younger of the two exceptional players. What will my Nadal Medvedev tip be?
The number 2 in the world meets the number 5, we can expect a final that will be quite something. Daniil Medvedev and Rafal Nadal are the two best players in the tournament, but only one can win the trophy in the end.
What speaks in favour of the Spaniard? The absolute crowd advantage, of course. Besides the fact that Medvedev is not an overly popular player, Melbourne wants to give the 35-year-old the record. If Nadal wins, he will have won 21 Grand Slam titles.
With Federer and Djokovic at 20 each, he could make history. He could also join Andre Agassi, Rod Laver and Novak Djokovic as one of four professionals to have won every Grand Slam at least twice.
So much for history, but what has Nadal achieved at the 2022 AO? After his long injury, not everyone expected him to do so well. He had started Down Under with easy wins against Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann.
Karen Khachanov managed to take a set off him for the first time at 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, Adrian Mannarino did not in the following round of 16. The veteran had saved the real bangers for the quarter- and semi-finals.
First he had to play Denis Shapovalov. 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 – he almost gave away the entire match. Afterwards, the Canadian complained that Nadal had provoked him with deliberate mind games and disturbed his concentration.
Nadal didn’t care about the divided opinions, he prepared himself for the match against Matteo Berrettini. The Spaniard wobbled only briefly, deservedly winning 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, giving only two break chances to Berrettini, who was particularly poor on his second serve.
And now Daniil Medvedev! Wasn’t there already a great final between these two? The final of the US Open, a real thriller! 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 – the Russian came back from 0-2 down, but in the end it was Nadal who triumphed.
But the most recent duel, a semi-final at the 2020 ATP Finals, was snatched by Medvedev, who thus reduced the score to 1:3.
The 25-year-old knows: “I was the top favourite for the title right from the start, if I win it, I’ll be the new world No. 1! After his success at the US Open in 2021, he could immediately snatch the next Grand Slam.
He dropped just one set in his triumphant run in New York, but he didn’t come through the tournament quite as easily this time. Henri Laaksonen and Botic van de Zandschulp, he defeated both of them straight away.
He won a tough match against Nick Kyrgios in Round 2 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Many were surprised that he also had to stretch himself in the Round of 16 against Maxime Cressy and brought home a close 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5.
At the latest, when Felix Auger-Aliassime led 7-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals, it was clear to everyone: This Daniil Medvedev is beatable. Unfortunately, from the competition’s point of view, he is also incredibly strong in terms of mentality.
He fended off a match point, won 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reached the semi-finals. His opponent there, Stefanos Tsitsipas, gave him quite a challenge at first. 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 – the first three sets were very close
But then the Russian picked up the pace, put Tsitsipas to the sword and had the fourth set won 6-1 in no time. 86% won points on the first serve and 84% on the second, what a demonstration.
He showed impressively that when he is fully concentrated and the longer a match lasts, he cannot be beaten. The games in which he gave away even a 2-0 lead are unlikely to come back any time soon.
A new number 1, possible records and a euphoric crowd – this final will offer us everything a tennis fan could wish for. The fans will probably side with Rafael Nadal.
But can the Spaniard really keep up with Daniil Medvedev? When the Russian goes all the way and serves with full force, hardly anyone can defend themselves. Nadal’s class was enough against Shapovalov and Berrettini despite injury, but in my eyes Medvedev is simply too ice-cold when it counts.
My tip: Medvedev wins the Australian Open!
