Head-to-head: Where Nadal, Medvedev stand ahead of grand slam decider
With Novak Djokovic absent, veteran Roger Federer injured and Rafael Nadal perhaps the most surprised by his current position, the Australian Open men’s final is another contest which will shape ‘Big Three’ destinies and add grist for the mill on indomitable GOAT discussions.
Nadal and Daniil Medvedev are chasing personal milestones on Sunday, but tangibly for both players the match is about rewriting or, more simply, recasting their Melbourne stories.
The chase for 21 is, undoubtedly, the biggest carrot for 35-year-old Nadal but, should he nose ahead of Djokovic and Federer, the Spaniard will improve his breakdown of major titles.
Nadal’s story at Melbourne Park, a solitary Australian Open title won in 2009 – and likewise Federer’s tale at Roland Garros, only one major won on Nadal’s favourite surface, in same year – have become reference points when framing arguments about greatest of all time status.
Put simply, while most world No.1 Djokovic’s 20 majors have been achieved on hard courts (nine in Australia and three in New York), the Serbian is the only player in the Open Era – and only the fourth player of all time – to have won all four grand slam events at least twice.
Nadal, if he can record what would be one of the unlikeliest of his slam titles, would join him. It’s hardly a statistical note to dismiss lightly.
Unlike Federer’s battle to extract even just the one Paris title from Nadal’s grasp, it’s arguable that Nadal has been desperately unlucky in Australia. Untimely injuries and formidable opposition have restricted him to a single Melbourne triumph 13 years ago – a victory over Federer – from the five finals he’s contested.
In the Australian Open lead up, Nadal has openly and freely expressed doubt about his body and his fitness, having returned to the tour after a five-month lay-off due to a left foot complaint. A bout of COVID-19 after an exhibition event in the UAE last month added to the deadline pressure.
While he may express his love of the Melbourne slam, it’s been a complex relationship. He’s been absent twice – in 2006 and 2013 – while as the defending champion 12 years ago he retired with injury during his quarter-final against Andy Murray.
In his campaign, even before Nadal opted for an ATP 250 warm-up tournament in Melbourne (which he won) – Nadal was quizzed on, for want of a better description, his love-hate relationship with the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal after winning through to the men’s singles final. Credit:Eddie Jim
“I just wanted to ask, you haven’t reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open since you won the title in 2009. I just wondered if there’s anything you find difficult or challenging about the conditions,” came the reporter’s question.
Nadal, ever the diplomat, answered: “I am very sorry to tell you – I don’t want to – but I have been in the final of 2012, ’14, ’17, ‘18.
“I got injured a couple of times here in my tennis career, so of course it’s been a great tournament for me, and of course I had a lot of challenges in terms of injuries in this event.
“Sorry to correct you.”
The ever-smiling Nadal confronts Medvedev in, quirkily, a second major final from only five head-to-head clashes.
Top seed Medvedev, 25, is suddenly in his fourth major final. His time is very much now. It was Nadal who stood in his way two-and-a-half years ago in the first – the 2019 US Open, won by Nadal in five edge-of-your-seat sets.
Moscow-born Medvedev has been steadily building his resume since, but copped a rude shock 11 months ago when Djokovic ripped his game apart in straight sets. Sure, Medvedev reversed the result at Flushing Meadows – stopping Djokovic from winning the grand slam just quietly – but he has a few Melbourne wounds he would like to heal.
Unsurprisingly, as Medvedev and his peers continue to try and knock down the ‘Big Three’ wall built up over nearly two decades, they are having to beat them in the big matches. In the Russian’s case, his grand slam final opponents are Djokovic and Nadal (both twice).
Daniil Medvedev plays a backhand in his semi-final match. Credit:Getty Images
“They are really strong, huh?” reflected Medvedev after wearing down Stefanos Tsitsipas in a compelling but at-times volatile four-set semi-final on Friday night.
“It’s really tough to get into the final, and I always have them there waiting for me. But it’s fun, you know.
“When I was like eight, 10 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.”
Should Medvedev win back-to-back slams, it will be a hard-fought and emotional rollercoaster triumph for him after walking a physical and emotional tight rope.
There was the daunting Nick Kyrgios second round match-up with some unsavoury crowd antics, a near-death experience where he saved a match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters and the dramatic but ugly scenes on Friday – a meltdown and verbal tirade against chair umpire Jaume Campistol over apparent on-court coaching from the Tsitsipas camp.
While Medvedev was regretful and apologetic in victory, one of the myriad questions about the outburst focused on how his behaviour could be compared against Nadal.
“Well, we know how Rafa’s mentality in life is like. I don’t know if I should call it this way, but he’s like a perfect guy,” Medvedev said.
“When you ask him why he doesn’t break a racquet, like always the story about the controller when he was young and Toni [uncle Toni Nadal] told him you shouldn’t do it.
“It’s tough, you know … but people can get mad at many things, and I feel like, yeah, Rafa, he’s amazing for this [not losing his cool].”
For his part, Nadal is overwhelmed with both surprise and gratitude about his opportunity against Medvedev, who beat him at the 2020 ATP Finals.
“I feel alive in terms of my tennis life, you know, in terms of my tennis career,” Nadal said, without understatement.
“I honestly have a good life. I feel lucky that family is healthy, and during these challenging times that’s everything. More important than tennis, for sure.”
But the value of a second Australian Open title is immeasurable for him.
“For a long time I wasn’t able to practice. Sometimes I went on court, and I was able to practice 20 minutes, sometimes 45, sometimes zero, sometimes two hours, but have been very, very rough,” Nadal said.
“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 on the gym.
“I never gonna say I deserve [the title] because a lot of people deserve. But I worked the proper way, and I hold the positive spirit and attitude to have the chance.”
Watch all the action from Melbourne Park on Nine, 9Gem, and 9Now.
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