Daniil Medvedev plans to add another Grand Slam to his growing trophy cabinet and he’s got a great chance to do so here in the 2021 Australian Open.
The World No. 2’s campaign got off to a strong note as he shushed the crowd at Rod Laver Arena last Thursday after beating a home favourite, and it appears that he has one of the smoothest paths to the final by looking at his draw compared to the other contenders.
Especially with Novak Djokovic out due to his unvaccinated status, the Australian Open 2022 odds now have the 25-year-old Russian as one of the heavy favourites for this competition.
Other than Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer is also unavailable since he’s still recovering from knee surgery so Rafael Nadal is carrying the mantle of the famed Big 3 in this tournament.
The Spaniard come into this tournament with something to prove since he’s eager to win another Grand Slam at Melbourne for the first time in 13 years.
As the action is heating up each passing day, allow SBOTOP to serve you the latest Australian Open 2022 updates.
Daniil Medvedev sends huge statement in his first match
Daniil Medvedev sent a stern warning to the rest of the competition after fending off Nick Kyrgios to reach the third round of the Australian Open, 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Prior to the victory which took him around three hours to complete, the ATP second seed had lost to the big Aussie in their last two meetings.
Nick Kyrgios was pumped up for this contest as he would look to overwhelm Medvedev with his pace and he pushed the Russian to the limit in the first set. However, the 25-year-old answered back with consistent flat groundstrokes that would keep Kyrgios at bay.
“Against Nick, it’s a tough matchup. I know he can serve big and that’s already really tough. These kind of matches, first, second, third round of a slam, it’s a big challenge where if you make it, you say, okay, if I can continue playing like this I can go far,” said Medvedev after the match.
Medvedev had 68 winners en route to the win and he extended his recent strong hard-court major record.
He reached the final in last year’s edition of this tournament only to lose to Novak Djokovic. However, he got his sweet revenge a few tours later in the US Open, denying the Serbian his calendar Grand Slam.
Next up for Medvedev is No. 57 Botic van de Zandschulp as the Dutchman advanced to the third round following the retirement of Richard Gasquet, 4-6, 6-4, 4-0.
Rafael Nadal proving that he still has something left in the tank
Rafael Nadal has yet to reach his peak despite winning his first game in Melbourne, and his path to becoming the first-ever man to win 21 Grand Slams is going to get harder.
After an injury-riddled year in 2021, the Mallorca native started with victories over Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann – both in three straight sets – and he’ll face Karen Khachanov next in the third round.
Nadal may have a 7-0 edge in his head-to-heads against Khachanov, with their last meeting dating back to 2019, but the 35-year-old is aware that he can’t let his guard down against the Russian.
“I think playing against Khachanov is going to be a big challenge. I’m just staying focused on my daily work. One moment at a time, that’s it,” said Nadal in a recent press conference.
Assuming he defeats Khachanov, Nadal will face the prospect of meeting another Russian at the Round of 16 in Aslan Karatsev – who is a semi-finalist in last year’s tournament.
After that, he could go on and see Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Novak Djokovic’s hard stance jeopardises his quest for No. 21
Despite not being able to play in this tournament, the bad news keep on coming for Novak Djokovic.
After losing his appeal on Sunday to play in Melbourne, closing a nearly two-week saga over his unvaccinated status, the World No. 1 is facing the prospect of missing out again on a chance for his 21st Grand Slam.
The French parliament recently approved a law requiring proof of vaccination for anyone at public venues including sports arenas, which would affect the proceedings in the upcoming Roland Garros.
Moreover, the government confirmed that there’ll be no exemptions for now, but they aren’t ruling out any changes that can happen between now and May.
If Djokovic won’t be allowed to defend his crown in France, his next best chance for No. 21 will be at Wimbledon.
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