Daniil Medvedev claimed an unwanted record of becoming the first player to lose a Grand Slam final twice having won the first two sets, after going down to Italian superstar Jannik Sinner 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in a thrilling five set epic approaching four hours.
Before today’s title match Medvedev had already spent six hours more on court than his opponent, having had comeback wins in the quarter finals against Hubert Hurkacz and also with Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, as well as four other gruelling wins. By going the distance in the fifth set, it meant he had now played 31 sets in this year’s tournament – a record in the Men’s Open era for any player across all Slams.
As Medvedev reflected further on his latest Grand Slam loss, he admitted that playing four five-setters in the tournament was simply too much even for the so-called Marathon Man to handle. He spent a mind-boggling total exceeding 24 hours on court in his seven matches including going to sleep at 5am after his semi-final win. Today he realised it was simply not sustainable:
“Five-setters are tough for the body. It’s crazy, but I would say the worst I felt was the day after the Hurkacz match, and the day after Zverev’s match. Yesterday when I was in practice, I was like, ‘Damn, how I’m going to play the final, how I’m going to move’. We really worked hard with my physio especially, he did a tremendous job every time when I stepped on court, I was ready again. During the match, after two sets, my energy level was dropping because I didn’t have a perfect sleep, I was playing long before. So, let’s call it my fault because I needed to win easier matches, but sometimes it’s tough.”
This was the first time Medvedev faced an opponent other than Nadal or Djokovic in a Slam final and he started off bravely by playing high risk tennis from closer to the baseline, hitting winners from both sides and breaking serve four times. Shortening the points clearly paid dividends. The bold tactics paid off as he stormed to a two-set lead in under ninety minutes. However, it was almost inevitable that the exertions of previous matches would catch up on the 27-year-old. From 5-1 ahead in the second set, things slowly began to change.
“I think what happened is he started to play better, a little bit different tactically, because I proposed to him something different in the beginning of the match, which was very aggressive. I knew there was still going to be long points but I needed to make the points as short as possible. I didn’t really do bad mistakes. In the fifth set I was, like every other match, trying to be proud of myself, and I was fighting, I was running. [I told myself]: if tomorrow I don’t feel my legs it doesn’t matter, I’m going to try everything I can today until the last point, and I did. I got a little tired physically, but Jannik didn’t really. He didn’t seem as tired as my opponents before. He started playing better. I got a little bit tired. Serve went a little bit worse. So, the momentum changed and I really tried in my mind to change it back again, because that’s what tennis is about. But I didn’t manage to do it, and that’s why he’s the winner and has the trophy.”
Medvedev did not believe his painful loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final – where he was two sets and a break up – played on his mind during today’s match. “I didn’t think much about the Rafa match, because I really tried to leave it behind, so I don’t think it had any issues. Otherwise there would be many, many matches during the season where I would lose. And today, I didn’t feel like suddenly when I was two sets to love up, I stopped playing and went behind the baseline and started doing lobs.”
Although having played each other nine times already, Sinner had won the past three including title wins in Vienna and Beijing. This was their first Grand Slam encounter and coming into the final, Sinner had only dropped serve twice and owned a 27-2 record since the US Open. One statistic which clearly highlighted improvements in his all-round game since working with renowned coach Darren Cahill was that he only missed 20% of returns against Djokovic in the semi-final – proving he was getting many balls back in play and not giving away cheap points.
As Sinner’s blistering match-point winner made him the first ever Italian champion of the Australian Open, his victory sparked the enticing prospect for tennis fans globally of a new young rivalry between him and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz who has already won two Slams. When asked about Sinner’s chances, Medvedev replied:
“Right now, he’s No. 1 in the race. He continues playing like this, continues winning tournaments like this, he’s going to be No. 1 in the world. But we never know what can happen. Many, many things can happen in the tennis career. That’s why I think tennis is a beautiful sport because you cannot look in the future.”
Despite his defeat, Medvedev appreciated the massive support and sympathy he received after the match and vowed to carry on dreaming, firmly believing he can add to his grand slam tally.
“My volley was pretty impressive this tournament, and I’m happy about it, so yeah, I think I can do it more often. I still think the main core of my game is going to stay, try to put as many balls in the court, make my opponent work. Now I’m dreaming more than ever, probably not today, but in general in life. It’s not anymore as a kid who is dreaming: it’s me myself right now, a 27-year-old who is dreaming, and who’s doing everything that is possible for my future and for my present. I love it. That’s why I made it to the final.”
