2022 Australian Open
| STREAMS | β Streaming in the top bar |
|---|---|
| CHAT | #reddit-tennis, /r/tennis Discord, Bracket Challenge |
| SCORES | Protennislive, Flashscore |
| Australian Open | Schedule, Draws and Results (MS, MD, WS, WD, MXD) |
- Last Meeting: 2020 Nitto ATP Finals - Medvedev d. Nadal 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
- Head to Head: Nadal 3 - 1 Medvedev
Remember to follow r/Tennis rules and be respectful to other users in the match thread. Please report any rule breaking behaviour.
Nadal d. Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
-
In a 5 hour and 28 minute epic, Rafael Nadal comes back from 2 sets to love down to win his 2nd Australian open title and 21st Grand Slam title overall.
Faces the winner of Matteo Berrettini/GaΓ«l Monfils next.
Over 5 hours long game!
I think Rafa is going to slice a lot to the Medvedev backhand and then attack his forehand during rallies. He will also try and force Medvedev to come forward at the net with his short slices and set up passing shots. He will mix it up and give Medvedev little to no pace during rallies. For him preferably the points will be either short or less physical due to these tactics.
This is one big advantage I can think of for Rafa because the serve-return dynamic is solidly in favor of Medvedev. However, here too I think Rafa will try to exploit Medvedev's deep return position and try to serve and volley or hit the first forehand more often.
Another interesting thing was that Medvedev's backhand was breaking down during rallies in the Tsitsipas match. This was probably because Daniil was tired but also shows that Medvedev is not fully comfortable with high or very low contact points and prefers a midrange contact point. Rafa can and probably will exploit this by mixing it up though it remains to be seen whether he will engage in long probing rallies of this sort.
What Medvedev can do other than making points very physical and rushing Nadal by his overall pace of play is to counterattack Rafa's attacking plays after his slices which he actually did do both in their ATP finals 2019 and 2020 matches. Both these contests were tremendously close and the first one was bottled by Medvedev badly from 5-1 up in the third set.
This match could become very interesting from a tactical standpoint after the nerves have settled and Medvedev dampens Rafa's inevitable early blitz. I'm so nervous and excited for the match.
TL,DR: Rafa will use slices and make Daniil come to the net to set up attacking plays and keep points short. Daniil will counterattack and prefer long testing rallies. Rafa will give no pace for Daniil to counterattack and Daniil will rely more and more on his serve supremacy. In the end, it could go either way.
2022 Australian Open
| STREAMS | β Streaming in the top bar |
|---|---|
| CHAT | #reddit-tennis, /r/tennis Discord, Bracket Challenge |
| SCORES | Protennislive, Flashscore |
| Australian Open | Schedule, Draws and Results (MS, MD, WS, WD, MXD) |
*Last Meeting: US Open 2019 - Nadal 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-1
*Head to Head: Berrettini 0 - 1 Nadal
Remember to follow r/Tennis rules and be respectful to other users in the match thread. Please report any rule breaking behaviour.
2022 Australian Open
| STREAMS | β Streaming in the top bar |
|---|---|
| CHAT | #reddit-tennis, /r/tennis Discord, Bracket Challenge |
| SCORES | Protennislive, Flashscore |
| Australian Open | Schedule, Draws and Results (MS, MD, WS, WD, MXD) |
- Last Meeting: 2020 Nitto ATP Finals - Medvedev d. Nadal 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
- Head to Head: Nadal 3 - 1 Medvedev
Remember to follow r/Tennis rules and be respectful to other users in the match thread. Please report any rule breaking behaviour.
