Daniil Medvedev shares Rafael Nadal childhood dream ahead of Australian Open final

01/30/2022

Daniil Medvedev reacts to US Open win over Novak Djokovic

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Daniil Medvedev has opened up on his childhood dream of playing Rafael Nadal ahead of their Australian Open final on Sunday. The world No 2 is looking to back up his maiden Grand Slam title with a second successive victory while Nadal can make history as the first man to reach 21 Major singles titles. They previously faced off in the 2019 US Open final.

The Australian Open comes to a close today, with the men’s singles champion still to be crowned after Ash Barty’s triumph on Saturday.

It will be a fifth meeting between Nadal and Medvedev to determine the winner, with history on the line for both.

The Russian would become the first man in the Open Era to back up his maiden Grand Slam title victory by winning the very next one, while the world No 5 would surpass Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to break the record with 21 Grand Slam singles titles for a male player.

It’s not the first time Medvedev has come up against someone looking for a record 21^st Major – he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the US Open last year to deny him the chance to not only break the record but become the first man in 52 years to win the Calendar Grand Slam.

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The 25-year-old has only faced Nadal and Djokovic in his previous Grand Slam finals – Nadal at the US Open in 2019 and Djokovic at both the Australian Open and US Open last year.

After losing to the No 1 Down Under last February, he was able to reverse the scoreline and defeat Djokovic in straight sets later that year, and Medvedev will be hoping to repeat his success against Nadal after losing their first Grand Slam final in five sets.

Reflecting on his finals against the two of the Big Three, the top seed in Melbourne this year revealed a childhood dream he had to play Nadal, pretending he was facing the Spaniard while playing in his bedroom.

“They are really strong, huh? It’s really tough to get into the final, and I always have them there waiting for me. But it’s fun, you know,” he said of his Grand Slam final opponents.

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“Again, when I was like eight, ten years old I was playing against the wall and I was imagining that it’s Rafa on the other side, or Roger. Novak was still not yet there, I think.”

And having a second shot at a Grand Slam final against one of his childhood heroes, Medvedev was hoping to be the victor this time.

He continued: “Now I have the chance, you know, to play second time. First one was a close one, epic one. I’m gonna try to prepare well, and need to show my best, because that’s what I took of the three finals that I had before, that you have to do better than 100% in order to win.

“That’s what I managed to do in US Open. That’s what I’m gonna try to do on Sunday.”

While Medvedev was ready to stop another Big Three member from reaching the elusive 21^st Grand Slam title, he admitted the potential history on the other side of the net didn’t affect him during the finals.

“I’ll be honest, on me it doesn’t,” he said.

“It’s not me going for the 21st, not me trying to break these records. I’m going for my second one. I’m still far from all these things. I can maybe compete with other guys who have won, but I won’t even name them all, I don’t know who has maybe two or one.

“So I’m just, you know, trying to focus on myself, doing my job. Of course, you know, I’m not lying, I know what’s happening, I know what Rafa is going for, I knew what Novak was going for.

“I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh, yeah, I am trying not to listen about this.’ But it’s kind of their thing, not mine. I’m just there to try to win the final.”

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