Russia's Daniil Medvedev lived up to Novak Djokovic's praise as the "man to beat" at the Australian Open as he charged into his first Melbourne Park final with an impressive 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
The rangy Medvedev wrapped the Greek fifth seed in a blanket of pressure under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, capturing his 20th successive victory to have a shot at ending Djokovic's dynasty in Sunday's decider.
Fourth seed Medvedev served like a machine until broken in the third set, which revived the Greek fans in the terraces as Tsitsipas roared to a 5-4 lead.
But the Russian silenced the crowd with the decisive break in the 11th game, then sealed a dominant win when he rushed forward on match point to whack a booming forehand into the corner.
"I'm happy to manage to keep my nerves because still I didn't make so many bad shots," Medvedev said on court of his anxious third set.
"So happy that I managed to keep my calmness. I just tried to hit aces and winners or put the ball in the court. That's the only way to do it.
"That's how I stayed in the match."
World number one Djokovic, who beat another Russian in qualifier Aslan Karatsev, will be a formidable opponent for Medvedev in his second Grand Slam final.
Serbian Djokovic is bidding for a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and has never lost a final in Melbourne.
For Tsitsipas, the defeat was not quite as bitter as his 2019 semi-final demolition by Rafa Nadal, when he exited Melbourne Park shell-shocked.
Yet he paid the price for another slow start, with Medvedev doing what Nadal could not in his five-set quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas this week – slamming the door on the Greek's revival.
"I think for sure he was tired after the match with Rafa," said Medvedev. "I saw that as soon as I was moving him around the court it was not easy for him ... That became my strategy straight away."
