Australian Open 2020: Daniil Medvedev vs Stan Wawrinka, match preview and prediction
Daniil Medvedev is quite literally the favourite to go all the way the 2020 Australian Open outside of the big three and the Russian has more than lived up to the label up to this point.
Following a minor blip in the opening match against Frances Tiafoe, Medvedev has delivered a couple of assured performances and looked solid, especially on serve.
His oppenent for the day, Stan Wawrinka, on the other hand, has had his fair share of troubles early on. An up and down start to his campaign has seen Wawrinka scrape by a few matches, but his he will be looking to come a more confident showing in the fourth round.
Wawrinka started the tournament brilliantly, losing just three points on serve in the first set that he played in Melbourne, but his serving has been a little more vulnerable since.
While he continues to win a major chunk of points behind first serve, Wawrinka has struggled behind the second. His discomfort was evident in the sets that he has lost in the tournament so far, posting miserable numbers like 25% (against Seppi in the 4th set) and 36% (against Dzhumur in the 2nd) behind the second serve.
That leaves him relying heavily on getting as many first sevres as he can. And that stat will be even more significant against a good returner like Medvedev.
It will come down to holding your own from the line, when these two play on Margaret Court on Monday. They just cannot afford to give the other a look at too many second serves or openings in their service games.
Medvedev looks to be in a stronger frame of mind, having played a lot of tough matches in the recent past and that might come in handy if things were to get close.
Much of the match will rest on the racket of Wawrinka and if he struggles to put his bet foot forward, Medvedev is going to roll past him without wasting much time.
Prediction: Medvedev to win in 4 sets.
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