By J.S.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV sounded confident ahead his clash in the fourth round of the Australian Open with Novak Djokovic (pictured), the world’s top-ranked men’s player. With what passes for trash talk in the courteous world of professional tennis, , the 22-year-old upstart pointed to a few of Mr Djokovic’s recent losses and said, “he is not playing as he was before,” so “you always have chances to beat him.” Apparently those chances were scarcer than expected: 48 hours later, the Russian was out of the tournament, just another victim along Mr Djokovic’s path to his 15th major title and record seventh Australian Open victory. In the final on January 27th, Mr Djokovic sent the tennis world a resounding message with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 defeat of his long-time rival, Rafael Nadal.
Mr Medvedev, who broke into the top 20 of the world rankings shortly after winning a title in Tokyo last fall, came in for his share of ribbing after failing to back up his pre-match comments. Still, he offered the sternest test the Serbian champion would face over the fortnight, keeping Mr Djokovic on court for more than three hours, forcing a fourth set and winning 47% of total points played. By comparison, Mr Nadal won barely 37% of points in the final. The Russian mimicked the tactics of fellow youngsters such as Alexander Zverev, a 21-year-old currently ranked third in the world, and stayed within striking distance by limiting the damage Mr Djokovic could do with his signature backhand. Against Mr Medvedev, Mr Djokovic hit one-third fewer backhand winners than his usual rate, and a whopping two-thirds fewer winning backhand shots down the line, the highlight-reel statement that often leaves opponents flat-footed. It wasn’t enough to score an upset, but it was much better than Mr Djokovic’s opponents would manage in the final three rounds of the tournament.
