2021 Australian Open ATP Final Preview: Djokovic vs Medvedev

The 2021 Australian Open is played between February 8th - 21st and from Day 1 till the final day, there is a lot to watch in Melbourne Park.

Thirteen days of tennis at the Australian Open have passed and we have only one more day of tennis ahead of us where we will see Novak Djokovic take on Daniil Medvedev. It's the final that will determine whether Novak will win his 9th Australian Open or Daniil his first.

When we summarise all that we have seen at the Australian Open so far this final is the best one we could have gotten. These players were the best ones in the past fortnight and that is why they are. Daniil Medvedev is riding a hot streak that saw him defeat 12 straight top 10 plays and now he has to face the number one. Ahead of the match, he spoke about how all the pressure is on Novak and he was going into this without any pressure. Even so, there will undoubtedly be some nerves in play as he will face Novak in the Rod Laver Arena.

No player has been more dominant here than Novak and it's his house. He will be going for his 9th Australian Open and he will be the favourite albeit only a slight one. They played 7 matches so far with Novak winning four of them but only one came in straight sets. Medvedev will have his chances especially if he plays the way he can so Novak will need to be on the top of his game if he wants to win. If he produces his best he will win but if he doesn't he might be in trouble against the red-hot Russian.

09:30 Djokovic N. (Srb) - Medvedev D. (Rus)

A very interesting Australian Open is coming to a close with only four players remaining. One of them will be crowned the Australian Open 2021 champion but before that, we must find out who will be our finalists. The two semifinals will take place over a span of two days with the first one played on Thursday and the second one on Friday.

In the first one, we will see Novak Djokovic and Aslan Karatsev in a semifinal that nobody saw coming. Novak being there is not a surprise despite his road being bumpier then he would have liked. Nonetheless, Novak is looking good and playing good despite not being at his usual peak level. On the other side we have Aslan Karatsev, a Grand Slam debutant who reached the semifinals deservedly. He has been playing great tennis all week long and with a bit of luck, he found himself here. Novak is the absolute favourite but if his opponent can find some magic and make things more complicated for Novak who will be eager to keep this one brief.

The 2nd semifinal which will be played a day later is the more interesting one. A match between Medvedev and Tsitsipas has many storylines due to their shared history and status as one of the next-gen superstars. Stefanos was the bigger talent a few years ago but Medvedev's meteoric rise has been fascinating to watch. Their last match is over a year old and it was Stefanos who won that one. In the other five, it was the Russian who dominated hence why he is leading the H2H 5-1. He is the favourite here as well as he has looked more consistent and the Greek's fitness will be in question after a four-hour marathon against Nadal.

Thursday: 09:30 Djokovic N. (Srb) - Karatsev A. (Rus)
Friday: 09:30 Medvedev D. (Rus) - Tsitsipas S. (Gre)

After an eventful Tuesday in Melbourne Park, we'll get to know the last 2 semifinalists on Wednesday. There will be only the best possible semifinal matchups as all of the top-seeded players from the bottom half showed their high-quality during the tournament.

First, we'll see the match between two Russians that led Russia to the trophy at the 2021 ATP Cup. Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev will meet for the 5th time on the ATP Tour, and the younger of the two will try to win his first ever set against Medvedev. World number 4 still didn't lose a set to his best friend on the Tour and will try to continue in the similar style also on Wednesday.

After a few days of rest, also Stefanos Tsitsipas will join the play. The Greek didn't play his fourth round match as Matteo Berrettini withdrew and so he had more time to prepare for his match against Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard didn't lose a single set at this year's Australian Open and both players are undefeated this year similar to Rublev and Medvedev.

05:00 Rublev A. (Rus) - Medvedev D. (Rus)

The first batch of quarterfinals for the ATP side of the event starts on Tuesday with two very interesting matches on the schedule. We will see the breakout star of the Slam in Karatsev on the court taking Dimitrov and Djokovic taking on Zverev.

The programme is set to start at 02:30 CET and we will see Grigor Dimitrov take on Aslan Karatsev. The Russian has been the story of the Slam so far having reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in his first-ever Grand Slam. He did it in impressive fashion besting great players in the process but his toughest task yet will be Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian played impressive tennis especially in his match against Thiem where his victory was never in doubt. He will need some of that magic again against Karatsev who is playing with zero pressure and enjoying every moment of it. They never played before so there is a surprise factor on the side of Aslan in this match that should make things interesting.

The other quarterfinal will feature two well-known players that know each other very well and who are not surprisingly in the quarterfinal. Alexander Zverev will take on Novak Djokovic in a match that will start at 10:30 CET. They played 9 times so far with Djokovic leading 6-3. Their most recent one at the ATP Cup was won by Djokovic but it was a closely contended match. There was no visible issue with Djokovic in his match against Raonic after he sustained an abdominal injury in the previous round.

It will be interesting to see how well Djokovic moves in this one against the German who has looked impressive so far. His big serve has been at the centre of his gme and plays a pivotal role. Djokovic as a great returner has an advantage there but his fitness will play a role. Expect this to be a very tightly contested match that could go the distance.

05:00 Dimitrov G. (Bul) - Karatsev A. (Rus)
10:30 Djokovic N. (Srb) - Zverev A. (Ger)

The battles for the quarterfinals continue on Monday with 4 interesting 4th round matchup that will give us 4 new quarterfinalists. Superstars such as Medvedev, Rublev, Nadal, Tsitsipas and Berrettini will all be in action so the fans will get to see plenty of tennis albeit from TV coverage as there are still lockdown rules in place.

It will all start at 02:30 on Monday morning with a match between McDonald and Medvedev. The Russian had some trouble against Krajinovic in the previous round but rallied to stay on title course. It won't be easy against the American but the Russian will fancy his chances. A bit later in the day, we will see two very young great tennis players. Rublev will take on Ruud in a matchup that we saw three times already although never on hard courts. Rublev claimed three victories on Ruud's preferred surface of clay so this one should be straightforward for him.

After them, we will see two veterans of this game who are still at the top of their game in Fognini and Nadal. They know each other very well having played 16 times so far with Nadal leading 13-3. The Spaniard will need to be careful in this one as Fabio demonstrated a good level of tennis by beating De Minaur in straight sets and he already defeated Nadal on hard courts before which should give him the confidence he is capable of doing it again.

The last match of the day will be a proper banger between Tsitsipas and Berrettini. Tsitsipas enjoys playing in Australia and has played very well this year and have a 4-1 H2H versus Matteo should help him feel more confident in this upcoming match. He is the favourite in this one as well but anything can happen in this one.

02:30 McDonald M. (Usa) - Medvedev D. (Rus)
04:30 Rublev A. (Rus) - Ruud C. (Nor)
05:00 Fognini F. (Ita) - Nadal R. (Esp)
10:30 Tsitsipas S. (Gre) - Berrettini M. (Ita)

On Sunday, the 4th round action will kick-off at the 2021 Australian Open with world number 1, Novak Djokovic and players such as Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov in action. Although Djokovic is yet to lose a match this year, his chances to win the title dropped and he will be less favoured in the 4th round match as he was used to.

That is caused by more factors, the biggest is definitely the injury that was visible especially in his last match against Taylor Fritz when he needed to go to the 5th set to win the match. Now, he will be facing Milos Raonic and the Canadian will try to defeat Djokovic for the first time in his career.

We'll also see another Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime taking on one of the biggest surprises of this year's Australian Open, Aslan Karatsev. World number 3, Dominic Thiem will need to fight against Grigor Dimitrov, who didn't lose a single game in his 3rd round match, what was cause by an injury of his opponent, Pablo Carreno-Busta who withdrew during the second set.

On the other hand, Thiem needed to come back from 0-2 down against Nick Kyrgios and so the Bulgarian had definitely more time an energy to prepare for the 4th round match. Also Alexander Zverev will try to secure his quarterfinal ticket in Melbourne as he'll take on Dusan Lajovic.

02:30 Auger-Aliassime F. (Can) - Karatsev A. (Rus)

A strong day of tennis awaits us on Saturday with 8 great tennis matches on the programme. Plenty of superstars will be on display such as Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, Berrettini, Nadal and the super popular Alex De Minaur.

It will all start at 02:30 CET with two interesting matches especially the one where Daniil Medvedev will take on Filip Krajinovic. After that, we will see several interesting matchups where the match between Rublev and Lopez looks particularly promising. The veteran has played great tennis in Australia and he should be able to do some damage against the sometimes erratic style of tennis of Rublev. Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Mikael Ymer in a match that could go the distance as the Swede can be dangerous when his game is clicking. Another banger in the late afternoon will be a match between heavy hitters Karen Khachanov and Matteo Berrettini where the Italian will be favoured but the Russian is not without a chance.

The late-night shift will be reserved for two exceptional matches with the first one being Fabio Fognini versus Alex De Minaur. The Australian will enjoy strong support from the crowd which could prove key against Fabio who is slowly building his form. The last match of the day is reserved for Nadal versus Norrie in a match where Nadal will be wary of the great form Norrie currently is.

02:30 Harris G. (Rsa) - McDonald M. (Usa)
02:30 Krajinovic F. (Srb) - Medvedev D. (Rus)
02:30 Ruud C. (Nor) - Albot R. (Mda)
04:00 Rublev A. (Rus) - Lopez F. (Esp)
05:00 Tsitsipas S. (Gre) - Ymer M. (Swe)
07:00 Khachanov K. (Rus) - Berrettini M. (Ita)
08:30 Fognini F. (Ita) - De Minaur A. (Aus)
08:30 Norrie C. (Gbr) - Nadal R. (Esp)

An eight-match day on Friday awaits tennis fans around the globe as players like Djokovic, Thiem, Zverev, Shapovalov, Kyrgios and many more will step out to battle it for the 4th round.

It's a bit of a later start than usual as the earliest match is set to start at 04:00 CET and it will be a banger between Dimitrov and Carreno-Busta. At the same time Zverev will take on Mannarino and as the German had issues with him before it could get interesting. Schwartzman will take on Karatsev who is red-hot after smashing Gerasimov in the previous round. Lajovic will take on Martinez in a very evenly matched affair with both looking to move on. The afternoon part of the schedule will be closed out with a match between Raonic and Fucsovics.

The evening part of the schedule will start with a match between Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime. It will be a true spectacle between two next-gen superstars. At the same time, we will have Dominic Thiem take on Nick Kyrgios. The Australian will count on the support of the Melbourne crowd in a match where he will need it. And lastly, we will see the world number one Djokovic who will take on Taylor Fritz in a match where the American believes he can make some damage.

04:00 Dimitrov G. (Bul) - Carreno-Busta P. (Esp)
04:30 Mannarino A. (Fra) - Zverev A. (Ger)
05:00 Karatsev A. (Rus) - Schwartzman D. (Arg)
05:30 Martinez P. (Esp) - Lajovic D. (Srb)
07:00 Fucsovics M. (Hun) - Raonic M. (Can)
09:00 Shapovalov D. (Can) - Auger-Aliassime F. (Can)
09:00 Thiem D. (Aut) - Kyrgios N. (Aus)
10:30 Djokovic N. (Srb) - Fritz T. (Usa)

The Melbourne action's fourth day brings 16 second-round men's encounters, including the 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal and his closest Russian followers on the ATP list.

The Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez opens the action against Lorenzo Sonego, competing at his 75th consecutive Major and trying to reach the third round. An in-form Russian Andrey Rublev is a clear favorite against Thiago Monteiro, strongly opening the season just like the previous one and seeking a notable result following the ATP Cup title.

The 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz faces Mikael Ymer, in another match where he should have his chances, already becoming the youngest match winner at Majors since 2014.

Karen Khachanov plays against Ricardas Berankis, alongside the home star Alexei Popyrin, who faces Lloyd Harris. In one of the most anticipated clashes, Stefanos Tsitsipas battles against Thanasi Kokkinakis, who secured his first Australian Open victory since 2015 in the opening round. Matteo Berrettini should beat the young Czech Tomas Machac and advance into the third round.

Daniil Medvedev has won the last 15 matches, and the 16th victory should come versus Roberto Carballes Baena in the night session. The 20-time Major winner Rafael Nadal closes the day against Michael Mmoh, hoping to overcome back issues and play on a high level again.

01:00 Lopez F. (Esp) vs Sonego L. (Ita)
02:00 Rublev A. (Rus) vs Monteiro T. (Bra)
02:30 Alcaraz C. (Esp) vs Ymer M. (Swe)
02:30 Khachanov K. (Rus) vs Berankis R. (Ltu)
02:30 Popyrin Al. (Aus) vs Harris G. (Rsa)
02:30 Ruud C. (Nor) vs Paul T. (Usa)
03:00 Krajinovic F. (Srb) vs Andujar-Alba P. (Esp)
04:00 McDonald M. (Usa) vs Coric B. (Cro)
04:00 Tsitsipas S. (Gre) vs Kokkinakis T. (Aus)
04:30 Machac T. (Cze) vs Berrettini M. (Ita)
04:30 O'Connell C. (Aus) vs Albot R. (Mda)
05:30 Fognini F. (Ita) vs Caruso S. (Ita)
06:30 Norrie C. (Gbr) vs Safiullin R. (Rus)
09:00 Carballes Baena R. (Esp) vs Medvedev D. (Rus)
09:00 Cuevas P. (Uru) vs De Minaur A. (Aus)
10:30 Mmoh M. (Usa) vs Nadal R. (Esp)

The Australian Open second round starts on Wednesday, with Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Diego Schwartzman, Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev in action.

The 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka steps on the court against Marton Fucsovics, followed by James Duckworth and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Milos Raonic is the favorite against Corentin Mouter, so is Diego Schwartzman against Alexandre Muller.

Emil Ruusuvuori, Pedro Martinez, Alexander Bublik and Dusan Lajovic will seek important victories before Dominic Thiem steps on the court against Dominik Koepfer. The defending champion Novak Djokovic takes upon Frances Tiafoe, hoping to continue where he left against Jeremy Chardy in the opening match. Reilly Opelka faces Taylor Fritz in an all-American battle, alongside an exciting encounter between Denis Shapovalov and Bernard Tomic. Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov play their matches in the night session.

01:00 Gerasimov E. (Blr) vs Karatsev A. (Rus)
02:00 Wawrinka S. (Sui) vs Fucsovics M. (Hun)
02:30 Duckworth J. (Aus) vs Auger-Aliassime F. (Can)
02:30 Moutet C. (Fra) vs Raonic M. (Can)
02:30 Muller A. (Fra) vs Schwartzman D. (Arg)
02:30 Ruusuvuori E. (Fin) vs Martinez P. (Esp)
04:00 Bublik A. (Kaz) vs Lajovic D. (Srb)
04:00 Thiem D. (Aut) vs Koepfer D. (Ger)
04:30 Djokovic N. (Srb) vs Tiafoe F. (Usa)
06:00 Opelka R. (Usa) vs Fritz T. (Usa)
06:00 Shapovalov D. (Can) vs Tomic B. (Aus)
06:30 Mannarino A. (Fra) vs Kecmanovic M. (Srb)
06:30 Vesely J. (Cze) vs Carreno-Busta P. (Esp)
09:00 vs Kyrgios N. (Aus) vs Humbert U. (Fra)
10:30Cressy M. (Usa) vs Zverev A. (Ger)
10:30 Dimitrov G. (Bul) vs Bolt A. (Aus)

On Tuesday, the bottom-half matches will go on, with Rafael Nadal and in-form Russians in action. The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal opens the campaign against Laslo Djere, struggling with a back injury but still hoping to play at his best right from the start.

Borna Coric, Hubert Hurkacz and Carlos Alcaraz all play before Rafa, hoping to beat their rivals and advance into the second round. The ATP Cup champion Andrey Rublev will try to continue his streak against Yannick Hanfmann, playing on a high level last week and seeking a deep Australian Open run.

Roberto Bautista Agut, Filip Krajinovic and David Goffin will also step on the court in early hours, followed by Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev. Alongside Rublev, Medvedev also won four singles ATP Cup matches, extending his winning streak to 14 after conquering the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals at the end of the previous season.

Fabio Fognini and Pierre-Hugues Herbert should play an exciting match, so as Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie in an all-British battle. The home star Alex de Minaur faces the last year's quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren, hoping for a better run than at the ATP Cup and a good result after skipping the Australian Open 12 months ago.

Thanasi Kokkinakis makes another return after injuries, playing Soonwoo Kwon in the opening round in the prime time. In the match of the day, Matteo Berrettini takes upon Kevin Anderson, while Stefanos Tsitsipas kicks off the campaign against Gilles Simon.

01:00 Harris G. (Rsa) - Torpegaard M. (Den)

As per usual, the 2021 Australian Open will kick-off with 32 ATP singles matches. Already on Day 1, we'll see the world number 1, Novak Djokovic but also many other interesting names. The Serbian will kick-off his journey against Jeremy Chardy who recently reached the semifinals in Melbourne at the Murray River Open.

The world number 3, Dominic Thiem will be also in action. The Austrian will play against Mikhail Kukushkin as he will hope to get the first victory against Kazakh. The sixth-seeded in Melbourne, Alexander Zverev will play against Marcos Giron.

Early on, before the top names step on the courts, there will be also a lot of high-ranked players to support. Milos Raonic will start the day against Federico Coria, Gael Monfils will play against young talent Emil Ruusuvuori and Stan Wawrinka will open the action in John Cain Arena against Pedro Sousa.

We'll see also a couple of first-round blockbusters on Monday. First, Grigor Dimitrov will play against Marin Cilic, and as one of the last matches of the day, fresh ATP champion, Jannik Sinner will take on Denis Shapovalov. The Aussie, Nick Kyrgios will also play on Monday as he'll take on qualifier Frederico Ferreira Silva from Portugal.

01:00 Coria F. (Arg) - Raonic M. (Can)