Djokovic goes for 18; Medvedev in his way
Novak Djokovic’s first Grand Slam final, the 2007 U.S. Open, was a loss that pushed Roger Federer’s haul of major men’s singles titles to a dozen. Four months later, Djokovic converted his second chance by winning the 2008 Australian Open.
And look where he is now: One victory from a ninth championship at Melbourne Park and his 18th major title overall, which would put him two behind rivals Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most in men’s singles history.
Daniil Medvedev also lost his first career Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open, falling to Dominic Thiem this past September. Now he will try to win in his second try, which comes at the Australian Open and against Djokovic.
“I know that to beat him, you need to just show your best tennis, be at your best physically, maybe four or five hours, and be at your best mentally, maybe for five hours,” Medvedev said. “I would say to win a Slam, especially against somebody (like) Novak, is already a big motivation, and I don’t think there is anything that can make it bigger.”
Sunday’s match will be televised by ESPN at 3:30 a.m. Eastern. It is an intergenerational showdown — Serbia’s Djokovic turns 34 in May; Russia’s Medvedev just turned 25 — and another in the simmering standoff between the Big Three and the next wave of rising stars hoping to supplant the group that has dominated on court for more than 15 years.
Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have combined to win 14 of the past 15 majors (Thiem was the exception), and 57 of the past 69.
Adding a new name to the list of Slam champs would “spice it up a little bit,” suggested Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 22-year-old from Greece who came back from two sets down to eliminate Nadal in the quarterfinals this week before losing to Medvedev in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
“Wouldn’t be bad,” Tsitsipas said.
Here’s part of what makes this final intriguing: It pits one of the greatest ever to play the sport, and at a site he’s dominated, against an opponent who currently is playing better than anyone in men’s tennis. The No. 1-seeed Djokovic is 17-0 in Australian Open semifinals and finals, making him nearly as much of a lock on the blue hard courts of Melbourne Park as 13-time French Open champ Nadal is on the red clay courts of Roland Garros.
“The more I win, the better I feel coming back each year,” Djokovic said. “I think it’s kind of also logical to expect that. The love affair keeps going.”
No. 5 Medvedev, meanwhile, is on a 20-match winning streak dating to last season. It’s run that features 12 victories against members of the top 10, including one against Djokovic, who plays a similar style to Medvedev.
“When he’s in the zone, he doesn’t miss. He goes down the line, cross, forehand, backhand. He doesn’t miss. That’s what is the most, the toughest, part of playing against him,” Medvedev said. “I think that’s where I should be good, also.”
Both are quite talented at roaming the court, covering ground to prolong points and frustrate foes, until finding an opening for switching from defense to offense in a snap. Now that Djokovic has declared himself free of pain after hurting an abdominal muscle in a third-round victory — he initially declared it was torn — his full-on elasticity appears to be back at its best.
The singles aspect of Medvedev’s game that is clearly superior, his serve, will go up against Djokovic’s peerless return. It’s one more reason for each finalist to feel a bit of pressure.
“I want to win my first one,” Medvedev said. He wants to win No. 18.”