Can Daniil Medvedev win the 2022 Australian Open?
Russia's Daniil Medvedev emerged as the most successful player in 2021 in terms of ATP match-wins. He registered a win-loss record of 63-13 besides winning four titles. The world number two won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. Medvedev is deemed as the front-runner to win the 2022 Australian Open. However, he would have to topple world number one, Novak Djokovic.
- Medvedev finished as the runner-up of the Australian Open this year.
- He lost the final to Djokovic, who clinched a record-extending ninth title.
- Medvedev fared well at the US Open, lifting his maiden Grand Slam trophy.
- The Russian has been acing the hard-court tournaments since he turned professional.
- He is expected to fare well in the 2022 Australian Open edition too.
Medvedev finished as the hard-court leader in terms of wins this year. He registered a win-loss record of 51-8 on hard courts in 2021. The likes of Alexander Zverev (41), Jannik Sinner (39), Andrey Rublev (37), and Stefanos Tsitsipas (32) follow Medvedev on the tally. Medvedev claimed three hard-court titles in the season (US Open, Canada Masters, and Marseille).
At the start of the year, Djokovic defeated Medvedev to win a record-extending ninth Australian Open title (18th major title). Medvedev avenged his loss by thrashing Djokovic in the US Open final. The Russian denied Djokovic the historic Calendar-Year Slam. Medvedev became the third Russian to win a Grand Slam. In November, Djokovic outplayed Medvedev to win his sixth Paris Masters title.
Djokovic recorded the highest win percentage of 88.7% in the 2021 season. Medvedev was his closest rival at 82.9%. However, Medvedev secured a tour-leading 63 wins in the season. His previous best was 59 in 2019.
