Serbia awaits in the final with sharp knives

Djokovic grants the final point after a strenuous battle against Medvedev (6-1, 5-7, 6-4) of 167 minutes.

The numbers of Serbian fans rumbled from the highest stands of Ken Rosewall Arena. Novak Djokovic had just beaten Daniil Medvedev (6-1, 5-7, 6-4) in the second game to close the pass of his country to the final of the ATP Cup. Before, Dusan Lajovic paved the way against Karen Khachanov (7-5, 7-6 (1)) and the doubles duel close 3-0 for the Davis Cup champions in 2010.

“It was exciting, exhausting, satisfying, terrible, all at the same time,” said Djokovic after 167 of strenuous battle in Sydney. A milkshake of sensations after demolishing the resistance of the Russians, their executioners in the past Davis in Madrid, where a dramatic doubles match sentenced the semifinalist.

In 2019, Medvedev had also knocked Nole down in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, so the 16-majors champion needed a leap forward. Of course, just two weeks from the start of the Australian Open, its brand new tactics can serve as an inspiration to those who should measure themselves to the spiky Moscow tennis player.

Strategy issue

The left, the setbacks and the continuous uploads to the network bothered Medvedev, with many difficulties to impose his powerful right and his great service. The Russian, undefeated in the tournament, delivered the first set with very bad feelings, but reacted with fury then.

“I began to assimilate my strategy, so I had to introduce changes to adjust it,” Djokovic analyzed about what happened in the second round, where he delivered four games in a row and broke a racket against the ground, burned by frustration.

The last US Open finalist, with his usual power from the bottom line, balances the score with a 7-5. They were the best minutes of the duel. “For a long time we both refused to fail, so the exchanges happened and it was very tiring. It was a very physical battle, but also a mental one,” Djokovic revealed.

“I'm not that far away”

On the razor's edge, in the moments that distinguish the chosen ones, the 'number two' of the rnking returned to impose their tennis. The crucial moment in the fifth game, when the Belgrade player detected a counter to break the Russian's service. Since then, Djokovic maintained serenity until he brought delirium to his fans.

“I am not so far away, but to get even closer I must continue working hard,” admitted the defeated. “I have to remain constant to maintain the level of play of the last two sets over the next few months,” Medvedev concluded.