Can Daniil Medvedev win the 2022 Australian Open?
What's the story
Russia's Daniil Medvedev emerged as the most successful player in 2021 in terms of ATP match-wins.
He registered a win-loss record of 63-13 besides winning four titles.
The world number two won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Medvedev is deemed as the front-runner to win the 2022 Australian Open.
However, he would have to topple world number one, Novak Djokovic.
Context
Why does it matter?
Medvedev finished as the runner-up of the Australian Open this year.
He lost the final to Djokovic, who clinched a record-extending ninth title.
Medvedev fared well at the US Open, lifting his maiden Grand Slam trophy.
The Russian has been acing the hard-court tournaments since he turned professional.
He is expected to fare well in the 2022 Australian Open edition too.
Hard-court
Medvedev is 51-8 on hard courts in 2021
Medvedev finished as the hard-court leader in terms of wins this year.
He registered a win-loss record of 51-8 on hard courts in 2021.
The likes of Alexander Zverev (41), Jannik Sinner (39), Andrey Rublev (37), and Stefanos Tsitsipas (32) follow Medvedev on the tally.
Medvedev claimed three hard-court titles in the season (US Open, Canada Masters, and Marseille).
Rivalry
H2H in 2021: Djokovic 2-1 Medvedev
At the start of the year, Djokovic defeated Medvedev to win a record-extending ninth Australian Open title (18th major title).
Medvedev avenged his loss by thrashing Djokovic in the US Open final.
The Russian denied Djokovic the historic Calendar-Year Slam.
Medvedev became the third Russian to win a Grand Slam.
In November, Djokovic outplayed Medvedev to win his sixth Paris Masters title.
Do you know?
Medvedev had the second-highest win percentage in 2021
Djokovic recorded the highest win percentage of 88.7% in the 2021 season. Medvedev was his closest rival at 82.9%. However, Medvedev secured a tour-leading 63 wins in the season. His previous best was 59 in 2019.