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When Alexander Zverev began to rise through the ATP rankings as a precocious teenager on the path to greatness, Daniil Medvedev was nowhere to be seen. It took Medvedev much longer than his peers to reach the top of his sport and, even when he finally did, he was still an afterthought compared to those with flashier games and years of hype.
However, having reached the top, Medvedev has established himself as the best of his generation, and late on Friday night he scored another spectacular victory over a teammate as he rallied from two sets down to reach the top. australian open final with a brilliant 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Zverev.
As he seeks to finally win his second Grand Slam title, three years after his first in the US Open in 2021Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner after the Italian’s defeat Novak Djokovic’s four-set defeat, the top seed and defending champion. Medvedev’s third Australian Open final and sixth Grand Slam final overall will be his first against a player other than the Serb or Rafael Nadal. “We say third time’s the charm, so let’s see,” Medvedev said. “I can say from experience that it’s not always like that, but I hope it works here.”
This new comeback is the latest drama of Medvedev’s crazy journey through the australian open draw. He also came back from a two-set deficit against Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round, in a match that ended at 3:40 am; He defeated Hubert Hurkacz, the ninth seed, in five sets and has also endured numerous brutal matches in the sweltering Australian heat. Somehow he is still standing.
“I’m stronger than before this tournament because now I know I’m capable of doing some things that maybe I thought I wasn’t. Because before I had not done anything like that to reach the final,” Medvedev said.
Another victory for Medvedev over Zverev is further proof of the significant mental advantage he has built over the German. While Zverev dominated his first four meetings, the Russian has methodically changed his matchups and has now won 11 of his last 13 matches.
For two sets, Zverev exploited Medvedev’s passive play and deep court positioning by steadily advancing toward the net. However, as defeat approached, Medvedev came to life. He approached the baseline, took the ball early and took time away from his opponent. In both tiebreaks, Medvedev stayed alive by producing incredible tennis.
At 4-4 in the fourth set tiebreaker, the Russian double faulted, offering Zverev a chance to claim victory. But then Medvedev followed up a brilliant forehand winner with one of the shots of the tournament: an inadvertent drop shot return on Zverev’s first serve. Medvedev then closed the tiebreaker with an ace.
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As Zverev struggled physically and lost his composure, the end result was obvious in the final set. The decisive and predictable break for Medvedev came at 2-2 on Zverev’s serve when the German’s forehand fell apart. The world number 3 achieved the only break of serve in the final set and advanced through his own service games to secure an incredible victory.
Zverev’s tournament was preceded by confirmation that he will face a public trial in May for allegedly physically abusing his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Patea, who is also the mother of his son. Zverev denies the charges.
The German’s trial will begin on May 31 and run until July 19, meaning that the next time he competes in a Grand Slam tournament, he is expected to be in the middle of his trial. When asked if the news distracted him from his tennis, Zverev replied: “No, because I’ve said it before: anyone who has a semi-decent IQ level understands what’s going on. I hope most of you do. I’m fine with that,” he said.
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