During the 2021 Australian Open when Rublev recalled the story, he was facing Medvedev in the quarter-finals and lost, extending the 27-year-old’s head-to-head lead to 4-0. But since then, Rublev has won both of their meetings and reached a career high of No. 5.
And Medvedev knows it will be an uphill battle against his dear friend, even if things are not as chaotic as in their early days. “First of all, Andrey is a great player,” Dubai’s third seed said before the final.
“Not a lot to say. He’s a player who can win the Grand Slams, he can win the Masters. He’s probably going to be a little tight in the important moments but he’s not tight in the 500s, it has a lot of it in it. I’m not looking for this tomorrow. We’ve had some tough battles even When I won. When he won the last two times, they were also tough fights. I expect a tough game physically and mentally. I have to be at my best, serve well, and try not to give him very easy balls because that’s where the best is. I’ve seen his last two games. He looked like he “He hit the ball really well. A very, very dangerous player. A great man. I’m looking forward to a great final.”
