TennisSection previews the 2022 Australian Open as Rafael Nadal takes on Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday, January 30th, 2022.
Will it be back-to-back Grand Slam titles for the World No.2, Daniil Medvedev, as he aims to continue dominating the tennis world since the US Open? Will Rafael Nadal get the record for most Grand Slam’s in Men’s tennis history as he aims to reach 21 here in Melbourne? The two best players in the tournament have fought long and hard over the last 2 weeks to get themselves in a position to lift the Australian Open title. However, only one will come out victorious here on Sunday. Who will it be?
Daniil Medvedev put on a great performance against a determined Stefanos Tsitsipas, beating his rival in 4 sets 7-6/4-6/6-4/6-1. Stefanos seemed to be playing incredibly well all throughout the first 2 and a half sets, however, he then started making mistakes on his serve, which allowed Medvedev to gain more confidence and really take the match out of the Greek’s hands. Medvedev was superb on his serve all throughout the match, winning 86% and 84% of points off of his first and second serve, only losing 18 points throughout the entire match on his serve. Daniil is incredible in these conditions, with his flat shots and movement making his opponents have to go for more and risk more on court. With his form, as well as his experience which is accumulating (4th Grand Slam Final, 1 Grand Slam Title, 2nd Grand Slam Final in a row), he will be looking to win his 2nd Grand Slam title here at the 2022 Australian Open. However, he meets the only member of the Big 3 who played here in Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal also came through a great 4 set match against a fellow top 10 player on Friday, beating the in-form Italian, Matteo Berrettini 6-3/6-2/3-6/6-3. Matteo is always a tough player to beat because of his huge serve and forehand. However, Nadal was incredible on the return throughout the match, being able to read the serve and then targeting the majority of the rallies to the Italian’s backhand side which is much weaker. Nadal let his guard down once in the third set, and that was enough for Matteo to steal the set. However, since then, Rafael made sure to get back in control of things and get the win fast. Nadal is now in his 29th Grand Slam Final, and for a man who had a foot surgery just 6 months ago, he has been incredible to start 2022. Rafael Nadal will come out here knowing that he will be happy to have just come this far after his injury struggles over the last year, but he will also know that if he is able to beat Daniil Medvedev here at the 2022 Australian Open, he will make history by winning his 21st Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev have met 4 times before, with Rafael Nadal leading the head to head 3-1. They met 3 times in 2019, where Nadal won all of their encounters. In 2020, they met once and Nadal was serving for that match in the second set, but eventually lost it in 3. Their biggest encounter was 2 and a half years ago at the 2019 US Open where they met in the Final and Nadal won that match in 5 sets. Medvedev was relatively new to the big stage by then, and he was able to come back from 2-0 sets down to push it to a 5th, but he lacked the experience in the big points which allowed Nadal to win. This is going to be the most exciting match we have had all throughout the 2022 Australian Open, and I am sure it will not be straight forward for either player. If we have to go off of form over the last year, Medvedev is the favourite. However, with Nadal on the brink of history, as well as the fact that Nadal leads the head to head, and could have won all of their encounters if it was not for one bad service game, I think Nadal gets it done. Nadal has the experience of these big moments, and this is going to be one of the only finals he has been in where he has not faced another big 3 member in recent years, so he will not want to let this opportunity go. Medvedev can lose his head at times as we saw against Tsitsipas, and when it comes down to who is more focused in these big moments, Nadal is your guy. I expect for a 5 setter, with both players leaving it all out on the court. However, at the end of the day, Rafael Nadal will make history and cement himself as the 2022 Australian Open champion.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Rafael Nadal in 5 Sets.
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