After two weeks of high quality and highly competitive tennis, we now enter the final weekend where the women’s and men’s finals will be played, on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We take a closer look at the upcoming finals!
There were many ups and downs along the way, some high level tennis played and a few upsets along the way as the first Grand Slam of the year certainly entertained and lived up to expectations. There is a long wait now until the second one, but equally, there are plenty of top quality tournaments to keep tennis fans entertained in between.
Women’s Final
Sabalenka vs Zheng
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka lived up to the billing as second favourite at the start of the tournament and has powered her way to the final. She managed to make it through to the showpiece event without dropping a single set all tournament so far and only dropping a maximum of three games per set up until the semi final. She did have a tough battle in the semi -though, as American Coco Gauff tested her and she was required to win a tie break to win the first set. Sabalenka’s last title came nine months ago, winning in Madrid and she is aiming to be the first woman to defend the title since compatriot Victoria Azarenka won in 2013. She is on an 18-match winning streak against players not ranked in the top ten, although no matter the result in the final, her opponent Zheng Qinwen will be ranked in the top ten at the conclusion of the Australian Open.
Zheng Qinwen becomes only the second ever Chinese player to play in a GS final, following in the footsteps of Li Na who won in Melbourne. She had to navigate her way through a tough semi-final against Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska. Her route to the final has been tougher than her Belarussian opponent as she was taken to a deciding set in three of the six rounds, against Kreuger, Kalinskaya and Wang. Her route to the final has seen her defeat six unseeded players and is only the second player to ever manage that. She is the second youngest finalist from an Asian country to reach a GS final after Naomi Osaka. A win here would see her take her third career title.
These two have only met once before, Sabalenka winning that tie at the quarter-final stage of the US Open last September and therefore, she will go into this match as a relatively strong favourite.
Men’s Final
Sinner vs Medvedev
Novak Djokovic’s long unbeaten run at the Australian Open came to an end as he was beaten relatively comfortably by Italian Jannik Sinner. The Italian only lost thirteen matches across a four set tie as he lives up to the billing as one of the players who could make a big impact here. The Italian was the fourth seed coming into this tournament so his place in the final is not really a surprise, although many expected Alcaraz to be the biggest threat to Djokovic. En route to the final, Sinner won every match in straight sets barring the semi-final, getting the better of Rublev, Khachanov, Baez, De Jong and Van de Zandschulp, an easier set of opponents on paper than his opponent in the final. The victory in the semi-final was the third time in the past months that Sinner managed to get the better of Djokovic and it will mean that he will go into the final in a confident mood, having had an easier set of matches than his opponent.
The second of the semi-finals went the distance, with five sets required to eventually separate Medvedev and Zverev. The German raced into a two set lead but Medvedev fought back winning the next two sets, both on a tie break. Eventually, it was Medvedev who completed an impressive comeback winning the tie 3-2. Therefore, Sunday’s match will be between the third and fourth seeds, so not really a shock in reality. By contrast to his opponent, Medvedev only managed one straight sets win in this tournament, when he got the better of Auger- Aliassime but he faced a tough battle not only against Zverev but also against Hurkacz in the previous round as well as dropping sets against Borges, Ruusuvuori and Atmane. Traditionally he doesn’t have the best record in five set matches but he has had practice in the last two rounds and looks well equipped to go the distance yet again, should he need to. Medvedev has never won an Australian Open but he reached the final twice in a row in 2021 and 2022 but the former World Number One won 5 major trophies last season and has one Grand Slam to his name, the 2021 US Open.
The early odds favour Sinner, he is currently the favourite due to his overall form in the tournament and his win over outgoing champion Novak Djokovic. Standing in his way though is the vastly more experienced Daniil Medvedev, a player who came into this tournament ranked higher than Sinner, has one Grand Slam to his name and a player who has reached the final of the Australian Open twice before.