Too much at stake. On both sides, the final on Sunday of the Australian Open It has a lot to define. In fact, Daniil Medvedev, current No. 2 in the world, intends to beat Rafael Nadal to take No. 1 from Novak Djokovic and thus become the fifth leader of the ATP ranking in 18 years.
It will be the fourth final of a Major for Medvedev: he lost in the US Open 2019 against Nadal and in Australia 2021 against Djokovic, while he finally beat the Serbian in the US Open 2021. In that last definition, the Russian deprived his rival of complete the entire Grand Slam, that is, win the four main tournaments of the circuit in the same season.
On Sunday, Medvedev will go for a record that no one in history has achieved, not even the Big 3: winning his first two Majors in a row and thus taking away from the Spaniard the possibility of winning his 21st Grand Slam title, which which he already got in turn against Djokovic in the aforementioned final in New York.
Undoubtedly, the plus for the Russian will be the possibility of climbing to No. 1 in the world, the privileged one since that is how Djokovic would give up in mid-February, when he loses the 2,000 points of the title obtained in Australia last year, when he just surpassed in the final to Medvedev.
Therefore, Medvedev is three sets away from making great history. If he emerges champion in Melbourne, the Russian right-hander will become the fifth man to be No. 1 in the world in singles in 18 years, since February 2, 2004, when the Swiss Roger Federer began his reign and thus a historic era was born. and unforgettable for tennis.
Later, only Nadal, Djokovic and Scotsman Andy Murray were able to reach the top of the ATP ranking. For this reason, the Russian is going for a double feat, since if he beats the Spanish in the decisive duel, he will be able to jump to the world top, thus being the first of the new generation to achieve such a feat.
Therefore, the final of the Australian Open will have many special seasonings and the chance for the current No. 2 in the world to write a big page in the history of the sport and of his country.
