Daniil Medvedev beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to book Australian Open final spot against Novak Djokovic

Daniil Medvedev on Friday defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 to book a spot in the final of the Australian Open 2021, where the 25-year-old will face world number one Novak Djokovic. Medvedev has been in terrific form and capped it off with his 20th consecutive match, and 11th against top 10 player, as he defeated Tsitsipas. The final of the Australian Open 2021 will be Medvedev's second Grand Slam final with his maiden summit appearance coming at the 2019 US Open.

Medvedev, fourth-seeded, continued to hammer serves until it was broken in the third set as Greek fans roared back to life following Tsitsipas's 5-4 lead. However, the Russian stunned the crowd with a decisive break in the 11th game before sealing the match as he rushed forward on match point to whack a booming forehand into the corner.

To finally get over the line he must on Sunday beat top seed Djokovic, who has won all eight finals he has played at Melbourne Park.

"It definitely wasn't easy," said Medvedev, only the third Russian after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to reach the Australian Open final.

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"I got a little bit scared and tight (in the third set) because it's a semi-final of a Slam... but happy I was able to turn my game on, especially in some tight moments on my serve."

Medvedev took charge of long rallies as Tsitsipas fought hard for every point. He was broken again after a seven-minute marathon game when the Russian smashed a sizzling forehand down the line for a 2-1 second-set advantage.

For the first time in the match, Medvedev was under pressure but held his nerve with a glorious passing shot giving him another break for 6-5 before he calmly served out to win.  

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(With AFP inputs)