By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, February 1, 2024
Generally, painful loss supplies highly effective revelation for each athlete and viewers.
Contesting his sixth main closing, Daniil Medvedev put himself in place to win the Australian Open solely to fall sufferer to a resilient Jannik Sinner and gnawing fatigue in a five-set closing loss on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Medvedev got here inside one set of turning into the primary man in Open Period historical past to win 4 five-setters en path to a serious title.
As a substitute, Medvedev makes ignominious historical past as the primary man in Open Period historical past to lose two main finals from two units to like up.
Corridor of Famer Andy Roddick is aware of all about gut-wrenching closing losses and says Medvedev’s complete physique of labor makes him a Corridor of Famer.
Merely put, the person nicknamed Meddy Bear is “a badass” writes Roddick in his Betway weblog.
“We’re rightfully celebrating Sinner, however Medvedev is a badass. He has nothing to hold his head about and left the whole lot in Melbourne,” Roddick wrote in his Betway weblog. “It doesn’t actually matter how nice your health stage is – that cumulative impact of time on courtroom is finally going so as to add up.
“His superpower is taking part in prolonged rallies and asking the query time and again: ‘Are you able to punch me out over time?’ He performs the best model of tennis that he’s able to and it has gotten some wonderful outcomes.”
Take into account Medvedev dropped to 1-5 in Grand Slam finals, however 4 of these defeats got here towards Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic and King of Clay Rafael Nadal, who famously broke the Russian’s coronary heart—and blew tennis minds— within the 2022 AO closing.
Unleashing the warrior inside, Nadal delivered the comeback of his profession battling by Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to twenty first Grand Slam title in an epic and astounding Australian Open closing.
Corridor of Famer Roddick says Medvedev, who leads the ATP in victories because the begin of 2023, is a certain hearth Corridor of Famer.
“That is his sixth main closing now and I don’t really feel like we give him sufficient credit score,” Roddick wrote. “I’ve by no means left a closing watching Medvedev and thought he’s blown it or given it away. He makes somebody earn it each single time. He’s performed Rafa twice, Novak twice and an in-form Sinner. It’s simply the way in which it goes. I misplaced 4 finals and received one. Generally you simply come up towards somebody higher on the day.
We’re appearing like this one’s going to be the factor that breaks him, however he’s achieved it earlier than and has come again terribly. I’m not nervous about him exhibiting up and being on the enterprise finish of each hardcourt Slam over the subsequent couple of years and, personally, I’d like to see him win one other one. He has overwhelmed all the perfect gamers on the largest phases and is little doubt a Corridor of Famer in his personal proper.”
Picture credit score: Matthew Calvis