The second for Daniil Medvedev, or the first for Jannik Sinner?
This Sunday morning, the Russian and the Italian compete to win the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.
Already opponents in the final of the tournaments in Rotterdam, Miami, Beijing and Vienna last season, the two men, respectively 3rd and 4th in the world rankings, are competing this time for a trophy of a completely different caliber.
Jannik Sinner has been the man in form in recent months.
Finalist in the Masters at the end of the year, where he notably beat Novak Djokovic and… Daniil Medvedev, the Italian then offered the Davis Cup to his country after 47 years of waiting.
A monumental feat which gave him the confidence he lacked to take a new step and play for the Grand Slam title.
In Australia, the former ski champion only lost a small set, during his demonstration against Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, notably dismissing Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.
For his part, Daniil Medvedev spent much more time on the courts in Melbourne.
From the second round, the Russian was scared against the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, before being pushed again in the 5th set by Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final.
In the semis, the winner of the 2021 US Open was led 2 sets to 0 by Alexander Zverev, before coming back and taking advantage of his still impressive physical condition to win.
However, it will take a little more to defeat Jannik Sinner and win a second Grand Slam.
During their five confrontations last year, the Italian won three times, the last three.
It therefore seems to have gained an ascendancy, even if none of these matches were played in the best of five sets.
The duel between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner in the final of the Australian Open can be followed from 9:30 a.m. this Sunday morning.
The match will be broadcast on Eurosport 1 and can be followed live with commentary on
leparisien.fr