Daniil Medvedev harnesses rage to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and set up Rafael Nadal showdown at Australian Open

Daniil Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena, setting up an exhilarating final against Rafael Nadal. The pair made a cagey start to the match, with neither dropping a point on serve until the fifth game. Even then it was only through bad luck, with Medvedev hitting the net cord only for the ball to spin over onto Tsitsipas’ side and leave him holding up his hands apologetically.

Ad/> Tsitsipas looked to frustrate his opponent with a series of clever drop shots, a strategy which had some success. At 1-1, he won a lovely point when he drew Medvedev in at full stretch only to lob him with a backhand volley. Australian Open'Are you stupid??' — Medvedev explodes with anger over Tsitsipas 'coaching from dad'2 HOURS AGO Where the world No.

4 was able to dictate the rhythm when he drew Medvedev into extended rallies, his opponent’s service game was almost impeccable. The Russian only dropped his first point on serve at 6-6, which boded well for the tie-break, while Tsitsipas was forced to defend four break points at 4-4 after a sudden surge from his rival. It was Tsitsipas who got the early mini-break, but Medvedev battled back with one of his own.

He earned set point with an arrowed shot down the line before a short rally ended with his opponent sending a return narrowly wide, settling a tight first set in Medvedev’s favour. The second set was a different story, with Medvedev dropping a slew of points in his opening service game to give Tsitsipas an immediate chance to break. He took it in style, pushing and pulling Medvedev across the court before coming to the net to smash a winner beyond his rival’s reach.