Tsitsipas’s forehand vs Medvedev’s serve | Expect a cracker of a Semi Final

Tsitsipas’s forehand vs Medvedev’s serve.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has his eyes on a maiden Grand Slam final when he takes on familiar adversary Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 Australian Open semifinals on Friday.

Tsitsipas shocked Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in their quarter final clash on Wednesday, despite losing the first two sets comfortably. Nadal wasted several opportunities in the third-set tiebreaker to let Tsitsipas back into the match, which was the trigger the Greek needed.

Medvedev battled past compatriot Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals earlier on Wednesday, in what was a replay of the 2020 US Open quarterfinals. The 25-year-old beat his good friend 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, continuing his winning streak to nineteen matches.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniil Medvedev H2H

This will be the 6th meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev with the head to head in favour of the latter at 5-1.

Their rivalry dates back to early 2017, when the young pair were engaged in a strange altercation after their match at the Indian Wells Masters. Tsitsipas apparently made an improper dig at Medvedev during their handshake at the net, which really angered the Russian.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniil Medvedev forecast

Stefanos Tsitsipas has deployed new strategy in his game this week in Melbourne, jumbling up his play more frequently on his backhand with slices and blocks. The Greek has also been looking good on return of serve when it has counted.

In his quarterfinal match against the great Rafael Nadal, Tsitsipas won 40% and 33% of his return points in the 4th and 5th sets respectively.

But the 22-year-old’s performance on return may not be as impressive against Daniil Medvedev, as the Russian has been stacking up a lot of free points on his 1st serve recently. The World No. 4 was cahllenged a bit on his serve in his initial set against Andrey Rublev, but he turned up the tempo as the match wore on.

Medvedev won a massive 92% of his first serve points in the 3rd set, decisively proving his dominance in that department.

Tsitsipas has a great forehand and he will have to put on the best version of it to counter Medvedev’s flat hitting. But the Greek has labored with his backhand down-the-line during the course of the tournament, which could give Medvedev an advantage in the longer exchanges.

Medvedev has one of the best double-handed backhands in the world, while also bragging of a reliable return of serve. If the Russian asserts himself in the baseline rallies right from the start, he could make life very difficult for his Greek counterpart.

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