“I don’t know how much this defeat has affected me and if it still affects me, I have no idea. I feel like I left it far behind a long time ago, but who knows? Maybe it’s still there, deep inside me, deep inside. It’s the kind of game I don’t remake in my head because I feel like he just played too well.”
Those were the words of current tennis world number eight Daniil Medvedev after his painstaking loss in the Australian Open last year. The Russian, who lost in an epic showpiece to Rafael Nadal, was within touching distance of a second major to add to the US Open he won the year before, but the 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 defeat in Melbourne should only add fuel to the fire in his narrative, as he looks to go one better this time around.
When assessing this year’s tennis betting odds, it’s clear to see that Medvedev is one of the favourites to go all the way. The Spaniards, current holder Nadal is far from in his best shape after another injury ridden autumn, and US Open winner and exciting talent Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out with a leg injury ahead of the Kooyong Classic. It leaves just Novak Djokovic as serious competition, with the Serbian back on Australian shores having been banned from last year’s tournament.
That serves as both a blessing and a curse for Medvedev. At just 26 years old, he is still yet to reach the peak of his powers, whilst still enjoying plenty of success. Some inconsistent results as of late shouldn’t be too concerning either, with a semi-final defeat to Djokovic in the Adelaide International and a lacklustre performance in the ATP Finals paling in significance to the first Grand Slam of the year. And when the pressure is on, the Russian tends to deliver, having beaten the likes of Félix Auger-Aliassime and current world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up his final with Nadal last year.
Medvedev will need to rediscover arguably the best form of his career if he is to win big down under this time though. Having gone two sets up in that final, it is more the mental obstacles he will need to overcome than anything physical, and live up to expectation as one of the favourites amongst most Australian Open bets.
He must avoid the hostile crowd getting the best of him, as you could see he was visibly frustrated when momentum wasn’t in his favour, especially throughout the tie-break. Assuming it is Djokovic he has to overcome to pick up a second major, he’ll have to avoid the mistakes he made in their recent clash which the Serbian won 6-3, 6-4.
He double faulted on break points in each set, and despite the world number five battling with a knock he still overcame Medvedev when it mattered, with the Russian admitting he hopes to avoid the nine-time champion if he can in the draw.
I need to be better. That’s it,” he said. “That’s what I managed to do in US Open after Australian Open loss. Australian Open was kind of the same. I was on a 20-match streak I think, win streak. Maybe 19, 20, 21. I don’t remember. I lost quite easy, to be honest. I was like, Wow, what happened?
“So, yeah, hopefully no Novak on my side of the draw in Australian Open. But even if it’s not the case, going to try my best and going to try to do better next time like I was able to do against him before.”
