Australian Open Tennis, Men’s Final 2021: Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev to win his ninth title in Melbourne, taking his Grand Slam tally to 18, two short of Nadal and Federer’s haul.
Novak Djokovic won his 18th grand-slam title after he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a straight forward Australian Open final. He won the match in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Daniil Medvedev was playing in his second grand-slam final. He will have to wait for some more time to register his name in the winners of the grand-slam list. His performance at the final was ordinary to say the least. When talking about Daniil, Novak said “On the court, Daniil is one of the toughest players I have ever faced in my life. It’s only a matter of time before you hold a Grand Slam trophy.
Road to the final:
Novak Djokovic
Round 1: def Jérémy Chardy (6-3, 6-1, 6-2)
Round 2: def Frances Tiafoe (6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3)
Round 3: def Taylor Fritz (7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2)
Round 4: def Milos Raonic (7-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4)
Quarterfinal: def Alexander Zverev (6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6)
Semifinal: def Aslan Karatsev (6-3, 6-4, 6-2)
Daniil Medvedev
Round 1: def Vasek Pospisil (6-2, 6-2, 6-4)
Round 2: def Roberto Carballés Baena (6-2, 7-5, 6-1)
Round 3: def Filip Krajinović (3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-0)
Round 4: def Mackenzie McDonald (6-4, 6-2, 6-2)
Quarterfinal: def Andrey Rublev (7-5, 6-3, 6-2)
Semifinal: def Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4, 6-2, 7-5)
HEAD TO HEAD – DJOKOVIC 5-3 MEDVEDEV
2020 ATP Finals, London, round-robin: Medvedev bt Djokovic 6-3, 6-3
2020 ATP Cup, Sydney, semifinal: Djokovic bt Medvedev 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
2019 Cincinnati, semifinal: Medvedev bt Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
2019 Monaco, quarterfinal: Medvedev bt Djokovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2019 Australian Open, round of 16: Djokovic bt Medvedev 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3
2017 Eastbourne semifinal: Djokovic bt Medvedev 6-4, 6-4
2017 Davis Cup, World Group Round 1, Serbia: Djokovic bt Medvedev 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 ret.
“Whether I was aware of the fact that I’m going to possibly make more damage and risk more damage to this injury? Yes, I was aware of that,” Djokovic said. “If there was any tournament, it’s going to be here and it’s going to be any major where I would risk worse injuries or damage in order to try to give myself a chance to go far in the tournament.
“Of course, I haven’t done it myself. [The] medical team, my physio, [they] have done tremendous work. With God’s grace, I managed to achieve what I achieved and I’m very thankful.”
It’s difficult enough to win a major without an injury. But Djokovic defeated two former World No. 3s — Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev — halted Aslan Karatsev’s dream run and then defeated the hottest player on the planet, Daniil Medvedev, who was on a 20-match winning streak, in the final. Just nine days ago, after tearing the muscle during a five-set victory against Taylor Fritz, Djokovic wasn’t sure he would take the court in the Round of 16.
“I know there’s been a lot of speculations, people questioning whether I’m injured, how I can recover so quickly, it’s impossible to do that. I get it. Look, everyone is entitled [to] their own opinion,” Djokovic said. “What we have done in the past nine, 10 days, you’ll get a chance to see in details probably [at the] end of this year when the documentary [we are making] comes out. I’ve been filming a lot of things that I’ve been doing here, but also in the previous six months.”
“Roger and Rafa inspire me. That’s something that I’ve said before, I’ll say it again. I think as long as they go, I’ll go,” Djokovic said. “In a way it’s like a race [of] who plays tennis more, I guess, and who wins more. It’s a competition between us in all areas. But I think that’s the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit.”
