Djokovic Downs Medvedev, Will Face Korda For Adelaide In Final

Novak Djokovic survived both an injury and Daniil Medvedev to advance to the Adelaide final Saturday in Australia.

Djokovic won his fourth straight over the Russian with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. But afterward, attention was given to a left hamstring tweak the Serb suffered late in the first which required him to leave the court.

“Thankfully it was nothing too serious. If it was, I wouldn’t be able to continue, so I just tried with medical timeout, some anti-inflammatories and kind of settled in after a few games,” Djokovic said. “I was just trying to keep the momentum going and allow him to break my serve. I think that was the key, that eventually I would get a chance.

“I think the longer the match went, the more my hamstring was warmer and bothering me less, so hopefully for tomorrow it will be all fine.”

Medvedev has now dropped his last four matches to Top 5 players since his semifinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas last year in Melbourne.

“With Daniil it’s never easy. You always have to change the pace, mix up the serve, the return position, rallies, try to make him uncomfortable. So it’s really a cat-and-mouse game in a way every single match,” Djokovic said. “He’s one of the best servers that we have in the world.

“Definitely on the courts like this where it’s really quick and the ball kind of skids through the surface, it’s tough to play him. But he made two double faults on two break points, both first and second sets. I knew that in those moments he might go for more so I was kind of changing my position and it worked.”

Seeking his 92nd career title, Djokovic will now take on American Sebastian Korda. Korda got through a tough first against Yoshihito Nishioka and then made the final when the Japanese No. 1 retired with a hip injury down 7-6(5), 1-0. Korda leads Nishioka 3-0 (6-0 in sets) in their head-to-head. He has never faced Djokovic.

“I think he is so good. If Plan A isn’t working, he goes to Plan B, Plan C, Plan D. He has all these different tactics he can use against you. He reads his opponents probably the best that anyone can read,” Korda said. “I think it takes a big game to beat him. I think I have that type of style. Just try to go into him and try to come out on top.”

Djokovic has won his last 33 matches in Australia as he seeks his 92nd career ATP title. In his fifth career final, the 22-year-old Korda bids for his second title after winning in Italy in 2021.

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