Australian Open 2022, Semifinals, Friday, 28.01.2022
Number 2 against number 4 – could this semi-final at the Australian Open 2022 be more exciting? Four absolute top stars have fought their way into the top four and will play out the title among themselves.
The special feature is, of course, that if Daniil Medvedev wins the tournament, he will move to the top of the world rankings. To do so, however, he first has to get past Stefanos Tsitsipas – and he is in outstanding form!
From the Russian point of view, it’s good that Tsitsipas is something like Medvedev’s favourite opponent, which also explains the bookmakers’ odds. In my Tsitsipas Medvedev tip, however, I will take a close look at both chances to win!
That was close! Daniil Medvedev’s dream of becoming the new world number 1 in addition to his second consecutive GS triumph was almost shattered in the quarter-finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The young Canadian played brilliantly and even had match point in the third set! But then Medvedev pulled himself together and showed why he is currently regarded as the best player in the world. 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 – this feat of strength brought him into the semi-finals after all.
Nine double faults, less than 80% of points won on the first serve – Medvedev was shaking badly. His entire tournament shows that he is not quite as confident as he was when he won in New York in 2021.
He also lost a set against Maxime Cressy and Nick Kyrgios. The many tiebreaks are also striking. Seven of them have been played, two of which went to his opponents. A semi-final in Melbourne against Stefanos Tsitsipas? That’s not new!
It happened almost exactly a year ago, when the Russian won very clearly 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. In the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, however, there was a direct revenge a little later at 3-6, 6-7, 5-7.
Tsitsipas won the most recent duel, two of the last three to be precise. Since Medvedev is still ahead 6-2 in the overall standings, the bookmakers have also taken a clear position. Not only Bet365 says: 1.40 to 3.30 for the Russian.
But they should not have missed what Tsitsipas delivered in his quarter-final against Jannik Sinner. 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 – it was a performance that impressed everyone. He didn’t allow a single break chance, but took all four that Sinner gave him.
Whoever serves like this wants to reach the final. He has already lost two semi-finals in Melbourne, and he doesn’t want to lose a third. His commanding performance against Sinner was also surprising because he had shown some shakiness before.
Four sets each against Sebastian Baez and Benoit Paire were topped by the spectacular five-setter against Taylor Fritz. By the way, the Greek only played two tiebreaks, both of which he stupidly lost.
He is able to control his serve, from 21 aces to only four, it is a fine line. Does the 23-year-old remember Paris 2021? He beat Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, lost the final to Novak Djokovic, who is not competing now!
My Tsitsipas Medvedev Tip
As world No. 2 and US Open champion, Daniil Medvedev is ahead with the bookmakers, especially the almost-out against Auger-Aliassime showed that impressively.
He is allowing much more than he did in New York and is now up against an opponent who played a brilliant quarter-final. Stefanos Tsitsipas definitely has the chance to prevail in this duel. In a duel between two top stars, I can really only guess:
It won’t stay with three sets!
