Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev head-to-head record
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev will compete in the final of the 2022 Australian Open on Sunday. Given the form displayed by them during the course of the tournament, it's safe to say that the two best players will fight for the title.
The Spaniard is chasing his 21st Grand Slam title and the first Australian Open since 2009. Medvedev lost in last year's final to Novak Djokovic and would be keen on lifting the Norman Brookes trophy this time around. Moreover, the win would make him the new World No.1.
Sunday's final at Melbourne Park will be the fifth meeting between the two players. The Spaniard currently leads 3-1 in the head-to-head.
2019 USO Men's Final - World #5 vs World #2
2020 AO Men's Final - World #5 vs World #2
2022 AO Men's Final - World #5 vs World #2
Most of the previous encounters between the two have been closely fought. Let us take a closer look as to how each of those unfolded.
2019 Rogers Cup Final
Nadal entered the 2019 Rogers Cup as the top seed and defending champion. He reached the quarterfinals after straight-set wins over Dan Evans and Guido Pella. In the last eight, he came back from a set down to defeat Fabio Fognini. The Spaniard reached the final after Gael Monfils withdrew from their semifinal clash.
Waiting for him in the final was eighth seed Medvedev who defeated Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final. The Russian was yet to drop a set in the competition.
Medvedev's tournament started with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Kyle Edmund. But he was on the receiving end of a similar hiding in the final as Nadal trounced him to defend his title.
2019 US Open Final
The 2019 US Open final was a thrilling contest that lasted nearly five hours. Barring dropping a set against Marin Cilic, Nadal had little trouble reaching the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows.
He then defeated Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini to reach the US Open final. WIth Novak Djokovic retiring in his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka, the then-World No.2 was the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament.
Medvedev had a few tough matches but he managed to reach his first Grand Slam final after defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the semis.
In the final, Nadal took the first two sets but the Russian fought back strongly to get back into the match. Medvedev won the next two sets to take the final into a fifth set.
However, the Spaniard managed to take the decider 6-4 and win his 19th Grand Slam title.
2019 ATP Finals
Nadal and Medvedev met for the third time in 2019 at the ATP Finals in London. Both players had lost their opening match and were in dire need of a win. The match turned out to be a thrilling contest.
Medvedev won the first set in a tiebreak. The King of Clay started the second set strongly by breaking the Russian in the opening game. He broke him once again to take the set 6-3 and level the match.
Medvedev raced to a 4-0 lead in the final set but the Spaniard fought back, saved a match point at 5-1 and took the set to a tiebreak. He won the tiebreak 7-4 to win the match.
2020 ATP Finals
Nadal and Medvedev's fourth meeting came at the 2020 ATP Finals. The Spaniard lost to Dominic Thiem in the round-robin stage but defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals.
Medvedev won all of his round-robin matches, including one against Djokovic, to qualify for the last four of the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
Nadal made a crucial break in the eighth game of the first set and then held his serve to take it 6-3. The Spaniard had served for the match in the second set. However, Medvedev bounced back, broke the Spaniard's serve, and took the second set in a tie-break.
The third set saw both players hold their serve before the Russian broke his opponent to take a 4-3 lead. Medvedev broke again to win the set 6-3 and reach the final.
He won the competition by defeating Thiem in the final.