Daniil Medvedev will face Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final with the aim of clinching his second major and becoming the world number 1. If the Russian player wins the title in Melbourne, he will overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings in February.
However, according to 7-time slam champion John McEnroe, even if according to the official rankings Daniil Medvedev will be at the top, in the eyes of the former American player Djokovic will still be the number 1.
McEnroe told Eurosport
“I think what really matters when you become No. 1 and it’s still a great honour whenever it happens, it’s who’s No. 1 at the end of the year.
The final rankings before, when all four majors are played, when all the tournaments have been played, this is the very beginning of the year and it’s still an amazing accomplishment, but you’re not going to sit there and tell me that Djokovic who was No. 1, had three of the last four majors and was in the final of the US Open, isn’t the No. 1 player in the world – that’s ludicrous.
And because of the unfortunate fact that he didn’t play here, he’s losing all the points he got that he won from the Australian Open. So that’s just why that happens.”
Medvedev at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
Ranked world no.2 (career-high), Medvedev has a composed 9-1 win-loss record in 2022. Medvedev is competing at the Australian Open where he conquered Henri Laaksonen 6-1 6-4 7-63, Nick Kyrgios 7-61 6-4 4-6 6-2, Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 6-4 6-2, Maxime Cressy 6-2 7-64 6-74 7-5, Felix Auger Aliassime 6-74 3-6 7-62 7-5 6-4 and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-65 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Daniil Medvedev will come up against the world no.5 Rafael Nadal in the final on Sunday at 7:30 pm on Rod Laver Arena. Their current head to head is 3-1 for Nadal.
The Russian won 13 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 6 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Nadal at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
Now ranked no.5, Nadal has managed to achieve a composed 9-0 win-loss record in 2022. Nadal is currently playing at the Australian Open where he bested Marcos Giron 6-1 6-4 6-2
, Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 6-3 6-4, Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1, Adrian Mannarino 7-614 6-2 6-2, Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 and Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3.Rafael Nadal will come up against the world no.2 Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday at 7:30 pm on Rod Laver Arena. Their actual head to head record is 3-1 for Nadal.
The Spaniard conquered 1 title in 2022 in Melbourne.
Rafael won 89 titles in his career: 22 on hard courts, 62 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal played each other 4 times. Their current head to head is 3-1 for Nadal. The last time they squared off, Daniil Medvedev won 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3 in the semifinal in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2020.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Novak Djokovic in 2022
At the moment ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 3rd of December 2021 when he beat world no.27 Marin Cilic 6-4 6-2 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
At present, during this year the Serbian has a 0-0 record.
Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |