By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Russia’s Daniil Medvedev lived up to Novak Djokovic’s praise as the “man to beat” at the Australian Open as he booked his first Melbourne Park final with a 6-4 6-2 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
The rangy Medvedev wrapped the Greek fifth seed in a blanket of pressure under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, capturing his 20th successive victory to have a shot at ending Djokovic’s dynasty in Sunday’s decider.
Fourth seed Medvedev served like a machine until broken in the third set, which brought Greek fans in the terraces back to life as Tsitsipas roared back to a 5-4 lead.
But the Russian silenced the crowd with the decisive break in the 11th game, then sealed the match when he rushed forward on match point to whack a booming forehand into the corner.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Ken Ferris)
