Australian Open: Medvedev thrashes van de Zandschulp, reaches fourth round
Russian star Daniil Medvedev stormed into the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open with a dominant win over Botic van de Zandschulp. He thrashed the Dutchman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 55 minutes. Medvedev has now reached the fourth round at this Slam for the fourth consecutive year. He finished as the runner-up last year after losing to Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev fired 10 aces in the match
Medvedev won a total of 96 points and 26 winners in the match. He fired 10 aces as compared to van de Zandschulp's three. Both players won one return winner each. Medvedev won 40% of receiving points (34/86) and 73% of net points (16/22). He won 36% of break points. The Russian recorded as many as six double faults.
Medvedev 2-0 van de Zandschulp
Medvedev now leads van de Zandschulp 2-0 in their head-to-head series. Before this match, Medvedev defeated him in the quarter-finals of the 2021 US Open. Notably, van de Zandschulp remained the only player to take a set off Medvedev in that tournament.
Medvedev is 6-1 in 2022
Medvedev now has a win-loss record of 6-1 in the ongoing season. He lost to Ugo Humbert and defeated Alex de Minaur, Matteo Berrettini, and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Cup. At the Australian Open, Medvedev has beaten Henri Laaksonen, Nick Kyrgios, and van de Zandschulp. The Russian will next face Melbourne Summer Set finalist Maxime Cressy, who overcame Australian wild card Christopher O'Connell.
Medvedev eyes his second Grand Slam title
Medvedev is eyeing his second Grand Slam title. He won the US Open in 2021 after defeating world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets. As per ATP, Medvedev could become the first player to follow his maiden major title with his second at the next event. He remains the front-runner to win the title in the absence of Djokovic.
A look at other results
Medvedev's long-time rival, Stefanos Tsitsipas, advanced to the fourth round after beating Benoit Paire 6-3 7-5 6-7(2) 6-4. The Greek will next play Taylor Fritz, who claimed a five-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut. Spanish maestro Rafael Nadal downed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Only Roger Federer (18) has reached this stage in Melbourne more than Nadal (15).
