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Tsitsipas Views Medvedev Defeat As Important ‘Lesson’

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

Despite falling at the semi-final stage of the Australian Open for a third time on Friday, Stefanos Tsitsipas was feeling positive following his defeat to Daniil Medvedev as he looks to use the experience to develop further.

“I have a long season ahead of me, with a lot of opportunities,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match press conference. “I’m going to try and grab and get the best out of my tennis and get the best out of this experience, so that I can always work towards and help myself improve physically, mentally and improve my game generally. I see today’s performance as a lesson that I can use to move forward.”

The Greek rallied to level the match after losing the first set, but could not find a way past the World No. 2, who prevailed in four sets on Rod Laver Arena. The clash was a repeat of last year’s semi-final in Melbourne, when Medvedev also triumphed, before he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.

However, the fourth seed, who was making his fifth appearance at the first Grand Slam of the season, was more proud of how he competed on Friday compared to the year before.

“I played way better than I did last time,” Tsitsipas said. “Last year I was completely cooked and exhausted after that five-set match with Rafa [Nadal]. I wasn’t able to recover the way I wanted to recover, and this year I was really into it from the very first point.

“I felt good with my shots, felt good mentally, I felt good in terms of belief and in terms of feeling that passion in the court. I was very close. The first tie-break was an important one. I feel like I could have won that one. Maybe should have followed a different tactic. But again [it is] a lesson. I think it would have been a different match winning that first set.”

The Greek, who underwent elbow surgery in the off-season, praised the performance and work ethic of Medvedev, with the Russian improving to 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series with his victory.

“He’s a great competitor,” Tsitsipas added. “He runs like [a] marathon runner, he can run for hours and hours. I respect the fact that he’s able to run so much and make it physical out there in every single point. He’s one of the biggest fighters, together with Nadal. He’s earned the win.”

While Tsitsipas’ wait for his first major title goes on, the seven-time tour-level champion believes he will experience success in Melbourne one day.

“Australia has a special place in my heart, and I always feel like I’m at home here,” Tsitsipas said. “I strongly believe I will be able to do very well here one day and give that joy and that happiness to Aussies here and the Greek community. It is a tournament that I very much love, and it is a tournament that I want to thrive at one day.”

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Medvedev Soars Into Australian Open Final, Sets Nadal Showdown

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

Daniil Medvedev showcased his champion mentality Friday as he stepped up and delivered under pressure once again to return to the Australian Open final.

The second seed demonstrated a mixture of quality and grit under the lights on Rod Laver Arena, overcoming fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a high-quality match to set up a final showdown against Rafael Nadal.

“Some matches are very even,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I missed some balls at a few moments where I could have got a break and he missed a few at the start of the third set. Then from 5-4 in the third [set] I just found some momentum and started to read his serve and put every ball in. I hit some very important passing shots and his energy went down because of this and my energy went up.”

The Russian, who reached the championship match in Melbourne last year (l. to Djokovic), targeted the Greek’s backhand from the baseline with his flat and powerful groundstrokes throughout. Medvedev hit 39 winners and broke four times to advance after two hours and 30 minutes.

The 25-year-old now leads Tsitsipas 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, having also defeated the World No. 4 at the same stage in Melbourne last season. Medvedev is aiming to win his second Grand Slam title, after triumphing at the US Open in September. He will also become the first player to follow his maiden major trophy with his second at the next Grand Slam event if he beats Nadal on Sunday.

The World No. 2 will meet Nadal in the final after the sixth seed defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 55 minutes. Nadal leads Medvedev 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series and is targeting a record-breaking 21st major trophy in Melbourne. The Spaniard survived a spirited comeback from Medvedev in the US Open final in 2019, prevailing in five sets after the 25-year-old rallied from two sets down.

On facing Nadal, Medvedev said: “I am going to play again against one of the greatest and against someone going for their 21st Grand Slam. Grand Slam finals are special and I can remember the final against Rafa at the [2019] US Open. It was my first final and we played for about five hours. We have played a few matches since then and I am ready.”

Since the start of last season, Medvedev has gone 19-1 at hard-court majors. This fortnight the 13-time tour-level titlist has edged Nick Kyrgios and Maxime Cressy in four sets, before he saved a match point en route to his five-set victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals. His two other wins at Melbourne Park came against Henri Laaksonen and Botic van de Zandschulp.

“After the match with Felix I spoke to my coach and said, ‘How will I do it on Friday?’,” Medvedev added. “I sat down in the locker room and was so dead, barely could move. But I tried to recover well and the next day I woke up and the moment I opened my eyes I thought it was not too bad and I could recover and that is what happened. I am happy today that it was not five hours so I can recover for the next one.”

In a tight and hard-fought match, little separated the pair in the first set as Medvedev looked to target the World No. 4’s backhand from the baseline, while Tsitsipas used the drop shot to bring the Russian to the net. At 4-4, Tsitsipas passed the first test of the clash as he fended off four break points to hold as they moved to a tie-break. From 1/4 behind, Medvedev rallied and conjured up a set point with a backhand winner down the line. He then sealed the 49-minute set when Tsitsipas fired a forehand wide.

However, the Greek did not let this setback affect him, breaking immediately at the start of the second set as he continued to use his heavy topspin forehand to keep Medvedev pinned back. The second seed did respond by breaking back, but he gifted the initiative back to Tsitsipas with a double fault at 30/40 4-4 and the 23-year-old made no mistake on serve to level, roaring in delight as he marched back to his chair.

Medvedev regained his focus in the third set though in front of a raucous crowd, winning 89 per cent (16/18) of his first-serve points before he capitalised on a few errors from Tsitsipas in the 10th game to move ahead. The Russian then raced to the finish line in the fourth set as he maintained his high level, firing his aggressive groundstrokes through the court with great depth to secure his statement win.

Tsitsipas was aiming to reach the final in Melbourne for the first time, having fallen at the semi-final stage in 2019 and 2021. The Greek, whose best result at a major was a run to the championship match at Roland Garros last year, earned impressive wins against American Taylor Fritz and World No. 10 Jannik Sinner en route to the last four.

Did You Know?
By reaching his fourth Grand Slam final, Medvedev has equalled Marat Safin’s record for most major final appearances by a Russian man.

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Berrettini: 'I Will Learn From Rafa Defeat'

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

Grand Slam defeats are always tough to take, but Matteo Berrettini is already preparing for next time.

The Italian World No. 7 threatened a comeback in his Australian Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal on Friday, but the Spaniard rode out the storm to complete a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win on Rod Laver Arena. While disappointed with how the match went, Berrettini has picked up some key lessons for the future.

“It was the first time that I played under the roof,” said Berrettini in his post-match press conference. “It was different conditions. I struggled. At the beginning I couldn’t really find the rhythm. It took me a while to adapt, but at the same time Rafa was playing really well.

“I learned that you have to be ready any time. It’s a sport that you have to be able to adapt to everything that is happening. Today he was just way better than me.”

With 20 Grand Slam titles under his belt, Nadal is an obvious role model for Berrettini in his pursuit for further success. “Just look at the numbers,” said 2021 Wimbledon finalist Berrettini. “I don’t know how many semi-finals Rafa has played, but I know that he has more experience in this.

“We chatted a little bit in the locker room. He told me that it was a great run, and I told him again, bravo. It’s just really nice for me to talk to him and have this kind of conversation, because I’m still learning from him, and it’s good.”

Berrettini was satisfied with his performances over the Australian swing despite the semi-final disappointment. Having never previously been past the fourth round in Melbourne, the 25-year-old will focus on the way he fought back in the second half of the semi-final as he tries to reach new levels in 2022.

“I don’t think I have to say anything about my tennis in the third and the fourth [sets],” said Berrettini. “I think it was a really good fight. I was playing good tennis and he was playing good tennis. I think it was fun to watch, I was having fun playing it.

“The first two sets weren’t what I expected, what I wanted from myself. I wouldn’t say I was flat, but I wasn’t in the right mood, in the right mental mindset, for many reasons. I think for the first time I’m in the semi-finals, against Rafa, it was good that I had a really good reaction. This is the thing that I’m most proud and happy about.”

Having only been beaten by either Nadal or World No. 1 Novak Djokovic over the past four Grand Slams, Berrettini feels he has the game to go toe-to-toe with the greats.

“I know that my level is getting higher and higher,” said Berrettini. “I think here for the third and the fourth [sets], my tennis level was really high. I’m not saying that he was struggling, but he had to play his best tennis to be with me, and this is what the great champions do normally. When you’re stepping up the level, they are there with you.

“I think it’s time for me to play these kind of matches as much as possible, to learn from these matches, and next time I want to be ready for them.”

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Nadal On Reaching Australian Open Final: 'It's Completely Unexpected'

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

Following his semi-final victory over Matteo Berrettini Friday at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal revealed he is loving the opportunity of competing again at the highest level after he missed the second half of the 2021 season due to a foot injury.

The Spaniard, who captured his 89th tour-level title at the Melbourne Summer Set earlier this month, will aim to win a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam trophy on Sunday.

“It’s amazing, and I’m super happy to be able to compete for the past three weeks at the level that I am doing,” Nadal said in his post-match press conference. “It’s surprising for me to be able to play at the level that I am playing. Just competing and playing tennis at this high level again, facing the most important players of the world, it’s unbelievable.

“For me, it’s something completely unexpected, so I am super happy. I always try my best. My goal now is to win. [But] I am taking things in a little bit of a different way now. Of course, with the competitive spirit that I have, I can’t go against that. It’s my personal DNA. But in some ways, [just to] be able to have the chance to compete at this level, it’s positive energy for me to keep going, because being very honest, for me it is much more important to have the chance to play tennis than win number 21.”

Prior to January, the World No. 5 had not played at a tour-level event since August in Washington due to a foot injury. The 35-year-old was forced to miss the US Open and Nitto ATP Finals as a result and admitted he did not know if he was ever going to be able to compete at a major again.

However, while doubts remain, the sixth seed’s run to the final in Melbourne is the reward for the hard work he and his team have put in to ensure he returned to full fitness.

“Doubts are still here,” Nadal said. “Honestly the doubts are going to be here probably for the rest of my career, without a doubt, because I have what I have and that’s something that we cannot fix.

“Sometimes I went onto court and I was able to practise for only 20 minutes, sometimes 45, sometimes zero, sometimes two hours. But it has been very, very rough in terms of imagining myself playing best-of-five. So, [I am] super happy. It is true that I worked hard for a long time every single day in terms of when I was not able to play tennis I was working hard at the gym. I worked properly, and I kept a positive attitude to give myself a chance to be back.”

Nadal is currently level with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on 20 major titles. The former World No. 1 lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park in 2009 and has also reached the final on four other occasions (2012, 2014, 2017, 2019).

The Spaniard reiterated that while it will be special to move to 21 Grand Slam crowns, he is just focused on the chance of playing in the final in Melbourne again.

“Yeah, I’m happy that I am going to have a chance [to win a record-breaking 21st slam title]. I just feel happy to be part of this amazing era of tennis, sharing all these things with another two players. But for me, it’s about more than all these statistics. It is about being in the final of the Australian Open one more time. That means a lot to me.”

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Nadal Reaches AO Final, Verge Of Grand Slam History

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

It’s been a long, sometimes painful road, but Rafael Nadal stays on course for Grand Slam title number 21.

The Spaniard is one match away from becoming the greatest major champion in history after defeating Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Friday to reach the Australian Open final.

An emotional Nadal was keen to put things into perspective after the win, reflecting on his journey to yet another Grand Slam championship match after struggling with a foot injury for the second half of the 2021 season.

“A month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would be able to play tennis,” the Spaniard said in his post-match on-court interview. “So it doesn’t matter, I just wanted to enjoy it and try my best.”

Nadal beat Berrettini in straight-sets in the 2019 US Open semi-finals, their only previous meeting. The Spaniard would have been happy with something similar on Rod Laver Arena, having admitted he felt ‘completely destroyed’ after his brutal five-set quarter-final encounter with Denis Shapovalov.

Meanwhile Berrettini’s quarter-final win over Gael Monfils made him the first Italian man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, but he is still seeking his first win over a Top 10 player at a Grand Slam.

Nadal raced into a two-set lead early, frequently taking up a position inside the baseline during longer rallies to pin his opponent deep in the court with a barrage of topspin forehands to the Berrettini backhand.

The tactic earned Nadal early breaks in sets one and two, the World No. 7 getting few opportunities to gain any sort of foothold in his third major semi-final.

Berrettini was finally able to settle into some sort of rhythm, at one point winning 23 consecutive points on serve as he struck back to force a fourth set. Nadal stayed solid to seal victory, however, avoiding a similar ordeal to his clash with Shapovalov. It was the 500th hard-court match win of Nadal’s career as he offered up just two break points in the match and made just 19 unforced errors across the four sets.

“I started the match playing great,” said Nadal. “The first two sets were two of the best for a long time. I know how good Matteo is, he’s a very solid player, very dangerous. In the third I knew at some point he was going to go for his shots. We needed to suffer, we needed to fight, we fought again and that’s the only way to be where I am today. It means a lot to me to be in the final again here.”

As well as becoming the first man to 21 Grand Slam titles, lifting the trophy in Melbourne would make Nadal the second man (after World No. 1 Novak Djokovic) in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams twice. Nadal was keen to treat Sunday’s match as he would any other major final, however.

“For me it’s all about the Australian Open, more than anything else,” said Nadal. “It’s just an amazing event. I feel very lucky that I won once [here] in my career, 2009, but I never thought about another chance in 2022, so I’ll just try to enjoy the victory today and then after tomorrow I’ll prepare my best.”

Standing between Nadal and his historic achievement will be the winner of the other semi-final between second seed Daniil Medvedev and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal has positive ATP Head2Head records against both, leading Russian World No. 2 Medvedev 3-1 and Greek World No. 4 Tsitsipas 7-2.

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