- The Australian Open finals feature Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev.
- Rafa is after his 21st Grand Slam.
- Medvedev is looking to win his second major trophy.
Without Novak Djokovic, many wondered who was going to win Aussie Open. The moment of truth has arrived, with Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev about to answer that question.
Even though they struggled in certain situations, these two have shown the best tennis in the tournament.
Nadal vs. Medvedev Schedule
- Where: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
- When: Sunday, January 30, 3:30 pm ET
- How to Watch: NBC Sports, ESPN, BBC
Nadal vs. Medvedev Odds
| Nadal | Medvedev |
|---|---|
| +170 | -200 |
Rafa in the Finals Again
Even though many believed that the Spaniard’s time is over, Nadal once again proved that he might be one of the most stubborn players in the history of tennis when talking about “comebacks.” Nadal won a warm-up tournament in Adelaide, and after that continued to play in the same manner at AO.
As usual, his biggest weapons are long rallies, fantastic top-pin forehand, and a very strong mentality in the defining moments of the event. He lost only four games in six matches, and apart from that, his percentage of used breakpoints is high.
Though we need to say that he had help in the quarterfinals, once the chair umpire looked through his fingers on a couple of occasions, like when he took breaks between the sets (both of them when he lost) or when his pause between the points was longer than 25 seconds. Some might say that he has help to win this one, while others claim it is only a conspiracy theory.
Injured Medvedev
We don’t know if you noticed that Danil Medvedev has bandages all over his body. Legs, hamstring, hips, and lower part of the body are pretty hurt, but he has been doing well so far. It seems that the Russian either has very good physio.
However, even though he has all these physical problems, we believe that his biggest minus here is his mental stability. Medvedev is a hot-headed guy, and against Nadal, you simply can’t allow that. The Spaniard will use that against you because he does that the best.
Now, when looking at Medvedev’s matches, he pretty much didn’t have any trouble on his way up to the finals. Even the contest vs. Tsitsipas ended up being a routine win for him. That was because of the Russian’s superb first serve, as he won 86% of points in that aspect of play.
Nadal vs. Medvedev Head to Head
These guys met four times, and Nadal has the better record at the moment, 3-1. He defeated Medvedev in the 2020 US Open finals, the one where Novak got disqualified.
Though, the most recent match between them ended with Medvedev’s victory, at the ATP Tour Finals.
Nadal vs. Medvedev Pediction and Pick
Rafa is excellent, but we are giving a slight advantage to Medvedev because of his excellent service. We’ve often seen Nadal struggling with strong servers who know how to respond to his return, and Medvedev is much better than, let’s say, Berrettini in that area of play.
Pick: Medvedev wins
