Daniil Medvedev plays the ultimate villain by crushing Alexander Zverev’s Australian Open dreams

If Alexander Zverev thought Daniil Medvedev was a villain before, what might he think of the 2021 US Open champion now?

On Friday, Zverev met his rival for the first time at a Grand Slam event after sharing 18 clashes on the ATP Tour. The two walked on court knowing that the man waiting in Sunday’s final was not the 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, but rather 22-year-old Jannik Sinner.

The German had taken out world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round and looked primed to reach his first major final since the 2020 US Open. It was there during the closed COVID-19 bubble Slam that Zverev served for the match after seeing a two-set lead slip against Dominic Thiem, only to lose in a final-set tiebreaker.

Medvedev, who was portrayed as the proverbial bad guy in Zverev’s Season 2 episode of the Netflix series “Break Point”, played the ultimate villain inside Rod Laver Arena to hand down another crushing Grand Slam defeat to the two-time ATP Finals champion.

Zverev initially survived moments like a 51-shot rally late in the first set after seeing an early double break lead evaporate. He led Medvedev by two sets and at times, made the quintessential backboard look like the competitor out of gas. In the fourth-set tiebreaker, Medvedev double-faulted to gift Zverev a 5-4 lead with two serves.

Yet, the final scoreboard said it all: Medvedev is still the controller of their rivalry after gutting out a 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory. After Zverev won five of their first six meetings, Medvedev has now seized 11 of 13.

WATCH: "ABSOLUTE MAYHEM"- Daniil Medvedev trips up Alexander Zverev with touch of Melbourne magic

One turning point might just have been at 5-5 in the third set, when Medvedev appeared to find a new wind by winning the point of the match. In a 20-shot rally that spanned the entire court, the 27-year-old raced toward the net to track down his opponent’s stab volley and caused Zverev to fall to the ground with a brilliant forehand pass on the run.

His fourth set escape was even more dramatic. When Zverev was two points from closing out the pair’s second successive tie-break following the long double fault from Medvedev, the No. 3 seed punished the German’s passive backhand slice to take control of the point, eventually finishing with a forehand winner.

What came next was only something Meddy could script. Off an out wide serve, the former world No. 1 somehow found a forehand drop shot return winner to regain the mini break. The next blow: an ace out wide to send their encounter into a decider to an erupting stadium crowd.

"Basically every time I went for a chip return was because I thought he was going to serve to the backhand. When it comes 200 (k.p.h.), don't have time to change the grip, at least me," explained Medvedev in his press conference.

"The side was against the wind. I think I was tight, so I shanked it. I, for sure, did I want to go at least short or no? I don't even remember. Just tried to put it in, so I shanked it a little bit. It was not like a frame completely but I didn't play it with the center. But the moment I saw it going, I was like there are two ways: Either it touches like the tape and stays on my side or it just kind of rolls over onto his side. I was, Please being the second one, I want to win. And it was the second one. Ttough luck for him, for sure, in this point. Managed to make an ace after, but that's what tennis is about."

At 2-2, the final dagger came. Zverev fell behind 15-40 after running through a forehand volley to push it long. Though he erased the break points after getting an unsportsmanlike conduct warning for taking his racquet to the net twice, Medvedev curled a perfect backhand crosscourt pass on the run to create a third break point—and converted when a tired Zverev forehand failed to clear the tape.

"End of the second set I started to lose energy. I started to not feel so fresh anymore. I mean, I am a bit sick," said Zverev. "I got a bit sick after the Alcaraz match with a bit of fever and stuff like that, so that obviously didn't help the recovery, and I did play quite a lot."

Medvedev broke again in the final game to seal the win in four hours and 18 minutes. It marked his second comeback from two sets down in the event, after finishing off Emil Euusuvuori at 3:40 a.m. in the second round. He is through to his third Australian Open final in four years, and will look to lift the trophy for the first time against Sinner, who has claimed their most recent three battles.

"Physical advantage I probably don't have. Tennis advantage, let's see. But three last times he got me. So I hope that this experience can help me," said Medvedev, who is 1-4 in major finals.

"I have no idea how Jannik is going to be, but me, myself, I have this experience. I will try my best. I will fight for my life, and let's see who wins."