Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev are on a collision course for the Australian Open semifinals. Of course, they have a long way to go before that can happen. They first open with Laslo Djere and Vasek Pospisil, respectively, on Tuesday.
Laslo Djere vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
There will be a whole lot of eyeballs on Nadal’s first-round match at the Australian Open on Tuesday. That has nothing to do with the particular matchup and everything to do with Nadal, himself. The second-ranked Spaniard did not take the court a single time time at the ATP Cup because of a back injury, and he did not sound optimistic with his comments this past weekend.
If Nadal does turn out to be close to 100 percent, a matchup with Djere should be one-way traffic. Djere has always done by far his best work on clay and he has not won a main-draw match at any hard-court tournament since last January. In his entire career, the 56th-ranked Serb has never even defeated anyone in the top 20 on a hard court. This won’t be competitive if Nadal is healthy.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
Vasek Pospisil vs. (4) Daniil Medevedev
Based on the head-to-head history, Medvedev won’t like his first-round matchup one bit. In three previous meetings with Pospisil, the Russian has never rolled to a routine win. Medvedev does lead their series 2-1, but it was 7-6(7), 7-5 at the 2019 Shanghai Masters and 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 this past fall in Vienna. Pospisil also prevailed once in 2020, pulling off a 6-4, 6-3 upset on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam.
That being said, Pospisil has never run into Medvedev when the world No. 4 is on one of his amazing hot streaks–during the summer of 2019 and the current one. Medvedev is on a 14-match winning streak that dates back to titles at the Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals. It most recently includes a 4-0 record at the ATP Cup, where the 24-year-old did not drop a single set while leading his country to the trophy. Pospisil played well throughout 2020, but this is his first tournament of the year and momentum may be gone. Regardless of what the 61st-ranked Canadian brings to the table, Medvedev will be too good.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
WWW?
Say what? Medvedev edged Zverev in 3 at the ATP cup. His “hot” streak is probably due to end soon enough, but I agree that it won’t be Pospisil to terminate it (although that guy can play at times).
rafa in an easy 3….assuming his back is ok….and Med cruises in 3.
Keep calm, stay focused, remain confident, be strong and enjoy the game, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtvInLDWYAIvT3h?format=jpg&name=medium
Well done Rafa! Congrats and vamos, into the next round!
Djere beat Thiem in straight sets in Rnd32 Rio in 2019 then beat Felix in the final. He also beat Felix in Sao Paulo the same year.
So he’s no pushover.
Vamos Rafa.
His surface is clay, as you highlight, but sorry ‘pushover’ describes him pretty well on hardcourt
https://mobile.twitter.com/genny_ss/status/1359119542052663300
Update on rafa
Thank u for the link Sanju!…Hope Rafa’s back will improve in the coming days!…
I didn’t watch the match yesterday but according to Wilander,Rafa was playing fast,during & between the points(to shorten the points no doubt,which is very good!bcoz we want him doing that for ages!)..Good thing too his next opponent already spent 4 hrs on court yesterday against Troicki!
Vamos Rafa!!
Courts are playing fast. So I think Medvedev will win this tournament. He has won all his big titles(masters and tour final) on fast courts.
Yes. I hope so
I saw the match. I think Rafa’s serve was definitely affected by the back. He spoke about it after the match. He lost concentration in the first set when he was up 5-1. Hus opponent had no weapons to trouble him, so it was all about getting some of the rust off and finding his rhythm. He had some nice rallies to get the feel of the court and hus shots.
Rafa did hit two amazing DTL forehands late in the third set. That was so nice to see!
I am tempering my expectations because of the back issue. More bad luck at the AO.
Hey Nny!…Yeah!..i am like u too!…tempering my expectations on him due to his back problem…IF he is healthy,i have no doubt he has a big chance to reach the final…but alas!..i don’t expect anything from him at all this time Nny…unless his back problem improved significantly in the coming days..but,let see..