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“Feeling Like Rafa”: Daniil Medvedev Draws Parallels With Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open 2019 Finals Loss

Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev at US Open 2019

World No.1 Novak Djokovic continued his reign at the Australian Open as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the Australian Open 2021 finals. The final was one-sided and contrary to almost everybody’s predictions. Medvedev was outclassed, so the Russian drew similarities with Rafael Nadal’s 2019 final against Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic and daniil medvedev
Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev after their final match. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

In his press conference, Medvedev recalled a similar one-sided 2019 Aussie Open final. There Rafael Nadal was on the receiving end of Novak Djokovic’s wrath. The match had ended just after two hours and was the restart of Djokovic’s dominance in Melbourne.

“I watched the final against Rafa. I think I’m feeling like Rafa this day tonight. Yeah, he’s just playing unbelievable here.”

Daniil Medvedev hails Novak Djokovic as the ‘King of Melbourne’

Djokovic stood at six Australian Open titles in 2019. From then and now he has won three consecutive titles against three formidable opponents in Nadal, Thiem, and Medvedev. Seeing this dominance, Medvedev couldn’t resist calling Djokovic the ‘King of Melbourne’.

“For sure, if we can say like this, I guess he’s the King of Melbourne, even if I don’t like these words. What else can we say. He won here nine out of nine times.

daniil medvedev
Daniil Medvedev reacts during his final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

Medvedev‘s unorthodox style was seen to be a big hurdle for Djokovic, but the Serbian eased through the Russian. Medvedev himself had forged a 20-match win-streak and was the key favorite to break the Djokovic monopoly at Aussie Open. But the Djokovic juggernaut continued in the finals, and now he is up 9-0 in the Aussie Open finals.

It is also to be noted that Djokovic is undefeated in 9 semifinals at Aussie Open. His dominance at the Australian Open is similar to Nadal’s at the French Open. Federer, Nadal, Murray all have tried defeating Djokovic in the semifinals and finals but have failed. Medvedev came in with a lot of promise, but he couldn’t step up at the big final. Will Djokovic get the 10th title in Melbourne next year?

Read More: ‘Lack of Motivation’: Novak Djokovic Reveals Uphill Battle With US Open 2020 Disqualification

The post “Feeling Like Rafa”: Daniil Medvedev Draws Parallels With Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open 2019 Finals Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.