Australian Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev vs Botic van de Zandschulp preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: [2] Daniil Medvedev vs Botic van de Zandschulp
Date: 22 January 2022
Tournament: Australian Open
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: Melbourne Park
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $75,000,000
Match timing: Not before 2 pm local time, 5 am GMT, 8.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv
Daniil Medvedev vs Botic van de Zandschulp preview
Second seed Daniil Medvedev will take on Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open on Saturday.
Following Novak Djokovic's deportation, the Russian is the highest-ranked player in the draw, and the heavy favorite to win the title.
After winning the 2021 US Open, Medvedev reached the final of the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals and also led Russia to Davis Cup victory. He has carried that form into the new season, warming up for the Australian Open by winning three of his four matches at the ATP Cup.
Medvedev has looked in devastating form in Melbourne, where he opened with a routine straight-sets win against Henri Laaksonen. He backed up that result by beating local favorite Nick Kyrgios in four sets in the second round.
Van de Zandschulp, meanwhile, marked his arrival with a run to the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, defeating Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman along the way.
The 26-year-old had had mixed results in the lead-up to the Australian Open. He reached the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Summer Set, losing to Grigor Dimitrov, and then crashed out of Adelaide in the first round.
He breezed past Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the Melbourne Slam and advanced to third round after Richard Gasquet was forced to retire midway through their match.
Daniil Medvedev vs Botic van de Zandschulp head-to-head
The third-round match in Melbourne will be the second meeting between the two players, with Daniil Medvedev leading the head-to-head 1-0 over Botic van de Zandschulp. The Russian prevailed in four sets in their quarterfinal match at the 2021 US Open.
Daniil Medvedev vs Botic van de Zandschulp prediction
Daniil Medvedev is the overwhelming favorite to win this match. The Russian's been in blistering form over the past few months, and his calmness during his win over Nick Kyrgios amid a hostile Rod Laver atmosphere showed his mental toughness.
Van de Zandschulp has made giant strides over the past couple of seasons, but his game is rather streaky. The Dutchman has a strong forehand and big serve, but even that might not be enough to trouble Medvedev, who is the best hardcourt player on current form.
All things considered, the Russian is unlikely to slip up against the Dutchman.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in straight sets.