Australian Open 2022 FINAL: Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev Prediction, Preview, Head to Head and Live Stream

After 2 weeks on high quality tennis, it all comes down to one match- The 2022 Australian Open Men’s Singles Final. In a clash of two eras, 2009 Oz Open champion Rafael Nadal will be up against reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Match Details

• Tournament: Australian Open 2022
• Date: 30 January, 2022
• Match: Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev
• Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne
• Round: Final
• Surface: Hard Court
• Prize Money: USD 2.04 Million

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Preview

5 years ago, a certain Roger Federer reached the Final of the Australian Open after 6 months of recovery at the age of 35. In the Final, he defeated his arch nemesis Rafael Nadal to clinch his record 18th grand slam title. 5 years later, Rafa Nadal finds himself in a similar territory. Nadal himself has said earlier this week that a month ago, he didn’t know whether he would be able to play the Australian Open this year or not due to his foot injury. And now, he will be competing in the final to script history and win his 21st major- quite a story!

Everyone was surprised by Nadal’s level this fortnight, including the Spaniard himself. He played a tune up tournament coming into the Oz Open which he won without dropping a set. Last week in Melbourne, he eased past Marcos Giron, Yannick Hanfmann and Karen Khachanov convincingly in the initial rounds. He then defeated Adrian Mannarino in the Round of 16 before surviving a stern battle in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, he hammered past Matteo Berrettini in four sets 6-3,6-2,3-6,6-3 to reach his 29th grand slam final.

His opponent, World No.2 Daniil Medvedev too has established himself to be the frontrunner of Men’s tennis after the Big 3 are gone. He has been the best hard court player since the last 1.5 years and has the stats to back the claim. He is currently on a winning streak of 13-0 in grand slams and has a chance to win back-to-back grand slam titles. He is only the second man in open era to reach another grand slam final immediately after winning his maiden grand slam title.

Medvedev has had to fight many odds over the last 10 days. He had a tough draw and had to overcome an emotionally tiring battle against Nick Kyrgios in the second round after beating Henri Laaksonen in the opener. Throughout the week, he wasn’t the crowd favorite but showed immense mental grit to clear all obstacles.

In the next two rounds, he defeated Botic van de Zandschulp and Maxime Cressy before beating Felix Auger Aliassime in the quarterfinal despite being two sets down. In the last 4, he got the better of 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets 7-6(5),4-6,6-4,6-1 to reach his 4th grand slam final.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Head-to-Head

This will be the fifth meeting between the duo. Nadal leads the H2H 3-1. They last met at the 2020 ATP Finals where Medvedev won in three sets.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Prediction

Both Nadal and Medvedev have played some incredible tennis all tournament and rightly deserve to be in the final. It will be familiar territory for Nadal as it will be his 6th Australian Open final but his first grand slam final since the 2020 French Open. On the other hand, Medvedev has reached 3 of the last 5 grand slam finals and will fancy his chances to go one step better this year.

After Djokovic’s deportation, Medvedev became the favorite to win the tournament but again, he didn’t expect Nadal to come this far. It is hard to rule out Nadal in grand slam finals- he has the best win % amongst the Big 3 in major finals. Adding to that, Nadal will have a chance to re-write the history books by becoming the first man ever to win 21 grand slams.

It surely will be a mouth-watering clash between two players who are defensively very strong and have tasted grand slam success before. Medvedev’s serve will be the key and he will have to be very swift to coming to the net whenever he has a chance. As for Nadal, he will have to work his way through topspin forehands and sliced backhands. Expect a thriller on Sunday night as both men will look for glory- Nadal will overtake Djokovic and Federer if he wins while Medvedev will become the new World No.1 if he wins. Given on big match temperament and momentum, Nadal could very well topple Medvedev and script history in Melbourne.

Prediction: Nadal to win in 5 sets.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev: Broadcast and Live Stream Details

Also read: “I wasn’t in the right mood and he didn’t miss a shot” Matteo Berrettini ‘PROUD’ of his performance despite losing to Rafael Nadal in the semis

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