MELBOURNE: Russia’s Daniil Medvedev lived up to Novak Djokovic’s praise as the “man to beat” at the Australian Open when he charged into his first Melbourne Park final with an impressive 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.

The rangy Medvedev wrapped the Greek fifth seed in a blanket of pressure at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena, capturing his 20th successive victory and 12th straight over top 10 opponents to earn a shot at ending Djokovic’s dynasty in Sunday’s decider.

Fourth seed Medvedev served like a machine until broken in the third set, which revived the Greek fans in the terraces as Tsitsipas roared to a 5-4 lead.

But the Russian silenced a hostile crowd with the decisive break in the 11th game, then smacked a forehand into the corner on his first match point to seal it.World number one Djokovic, who beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev to reach the final, will be a formidable opponent for Medvedev in his second Grand Slam showpiece match.

Serbian Djokovic is bidding for a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and has never lost a final in Melbourne.

For Tsitsipas, the defeat was not as bitter as his 2019 semi-final demolition by Rafa Nadal.

Yet he paid the price for another slow start, with Medvedev doing what Nadal could not in his five-set quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas this week -- slamming the door on the Greek’s revival.

Tsitsipas has now lost three Grand Slam semis, including a five-set loss to Djokovic at last year’s French Open.After a cagey start on a muggy evening at Rod Laver Arena, Medvedev barged through Tsitsipas’s defences to break in the fifth game.

Tsitsipas battled to stay in touch and saved three set points before the Russian thumped an ace down the ‘T’ to seal it.

With arms sprawling, Medvedev soaked up all Tsitsipas could throw at him and, after a few rope-a-dope rallies, fired a sizzling forehand winner down the line to break the Greek to lead 2-1 in the second set.

Tsitsipas retired to his chair fuming and slammed a bottle of water onto the court, triggering a squadron of towel-toting ballkids to mop up.

Medvedev marched on, raising three break points at 4-2, and with a touch of arrogance rocketed a return down the line to convert.

The Russian was soon strolling back to his chair two sets up after an ace on set point.

Tsitsipas’s struggles became uncomfortable viewing for some in the crowd and a few jeers rang out when he was broken in the opening game of the third.

Medvedev was cruising to the finish line until, inexplicably, his serve wavered.

He double-faulted to gift break points and dropped serve with a wild forehand, jolting the crowd into life.

A rejuvenated Tsitsipas surged back as Medvedev’s baseline rockets misfired.

While the Russian’s serve had kept Tsitsipas at bay, it was his returning that proved decisive when he broke the Greek at 5-5.

After sending a blazing backhand passing shot down the line, Medvedev waved his arms at the crowd, playing the villain in an echo of his run to the 2019 U.S. Open final.

He closed out the match with a 208 km/hr second serve that Tsitsipas could only chop short, allowing Medvedev to jog forward and fire the winning forehand.

Meanwhile, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka beat Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-3 to win the Australian Open women’s doubles title on Friday for their second Grand Slam trophy together.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2021