2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 6 MEN'S NOTES - Saturday 13 February - ITF
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2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
DAY 6 MEN’S NOTES
Saturday 13 February
3rd Round Bottom Half
No. 2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Cameron Norrie (GBR)
No. 4 Daniil Medvedev (RUS) v No. 28 Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) v Mikael Ymer (SWE)
No. 7 Andrey Rublev (RUS) v Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
No. 9 Matteo Berrettini (ITA) v No. 19 Karen Khachanov (RUS)
No. 16 Fabio Fognini (ITA) v No. 21 Alex de Minaur (AUS)
No. 24 Casper Ruud (NOR) v Radu Albot (MDA)
Lloyd Harris (RSA) v Mackenzie McDonald (USA)
On court today…
• Rafael Nadal will aim to continue his progress towards a record 21st Grand Slam title when he takes on
Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the 2nd night match on Rod Laver Arena. Nadal and Norrie are 2 of the
5 lefthanded players who made it through to the 3rd round here this year – and world No. 2 is aiming to
continue his excellent recent form against fellow lefthanders. Nadal has not lost to a lefthanded player
since falling to Denis Shapovalov in the 3rd round at 2017 Montreal-1000 and has won 103 of his 117
Tour-level meetings with lefthanders. Norrie, who is aiming to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for
the first time, has won 8 of his 15 Tour-level matches against lefthanded players.
• The evergreen Feliciano Lopez takes on No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev on Margaret Court Arena today with
the 39-year-old Spaniard looking to become the oldest man to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam
since 44-year-old Ken Rosewall at the 1978 Australian Open. Lopez recorded his 5th successful
comeback from 0-2 down in the 2nd round against Lorenzo Sonego – becoming the oldest man to win
from 0-2 down since Rosewall defeated Stan Smith in the semifinals at 1974 Wimbledon – and is likely
to face another tough match today. Rublev is unbeaten so far this season and won his opening 2 matches
here in straight sets.
• Fabio Fognini was another player to record a 5-set victory in the 2nd round, saving a match point in the
final-set tiebreak before triumphing against Salvatore Caruso. The Italian has now contested more final-
set tiebreaks at the Australian Open than any other player, having won 2 matches in final-set tiebreaks
last year too. His opponent today is Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur, who has looked in good form in 2
straight-sets victories so far this week. De Minaur is aiming to reach the last 16 here for the first time and
become the 55th Australian man to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the Open Era.
• The 3 Russian men in action today – Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev and Rublev – will aim to join
their compatriot Aslan Karatsev in the round of 16, after the world No. 114 stunned No. 8 seed Diego
Schwartzman in the 3rd round on Friday. Should Medvedev, Rublev and Khachanov all win today, it will
be the first time in the Open Era that 4 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam. No
more than 2 Russian men have reached the last 16 at the Australian Open before in the Open Era.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) v CAMERON NORRIE (GBR)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nadal has never lost an Australian Open match to a player ranked as low as No. 69 Norrie. The lowest-ranked
player to defeat Nadal at the Australian Open is No. 45 Fernando Verdasco in the 1st round in 2016.
Nadal and Norrie are 2 of the 5 lefthanded players who have reached the 3rd round here from the 17 who
started this year’s main draw – along with Feliciano Lopez, Adrian Mannarino and Denis Shapovalov
Nadal has not lost to a fellow lefthander since falling to Shapovalov in the 3rd round at 2017 Montreal-1000.
He has won the 15 matches he has contested against lefthanded players since then. (NB he gave a walkover
to Shapovalov in the semifinals at 2019 Paris-1000) He has a 30-3 win-loss record against lefthanded players
at the Grand Slams and a 103-14 win-loss record against lefthanded players at Tour-level overall.
Norrie is facing a fellow lefthander at a Grand Slam for the first time. He has an 8-7 win-loss record against
lefthanded players at Tour-level overall.
NADAL v NORRIE
34 Age 25
2 ATP Ranking 69
86 Titles 0
284-39 Career Grand Slam Record 8-12
67-14 Australian Open Record 2-2
1006-204 Career Record 56-62
487-138 Career Record - Hard 41-40
2-0 2021 Record 5-2
2-0 2021 Record - Hard 5-2
22-12 Career Five-Set Record 2-4
3 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 2
246-159 Career Tiebreak Record 19-31
0-0 2021 Tiebreak Record 1-1
• 2009 Australian Open champion NADAL is bidding reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the 49th time.
He is in 3rd place on the list for most Grand Slam round of 16 appearances in the Open Era, behind Roger
Federer and Novak Djokovic. This is his 61st Grand Slam appearance
Most Grand Slam men’s singles round of 16 appearances (Open Era)
Player No. of appearances
Roger Federer 67
Novak Djokovic* 53??
Rafael Nadal 49??
Jimmy Connors 43
Andre Agassi 42
Ivan Lendl 42
*written prior to the conclusion of Djokovic’s 3rd round match on Friday
• Nadal is also bidding to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open for the 14th time. He is currently in
joint-2nd place on the list for most Australian Open round of 16 appearances in the Open Era, alongside
Djokovic, who is also bidding to reach the round of 16 for the 14th time this year*. This is his 16th Australian
Open appearance.
Most Australian Open men’s singles round of 16 appearances (Open Era)
Player No. of appearances
Roger Federer 18
Novak Djokovic* 14??
Rafael Nadal 14??
Tomas Berdych 11
Stefan Edberg 11
*written prior to the conclusion of Djokovic’s 3rd round match on Friday
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Nadal advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Laslo Djere 63 64 61 in the 1st round on Tuesday and
qualifier Michael Mmoh 61 64 62 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• Nadal is bidding to win his 21st Grand Slam title and claim sole ownership of the record for most Grand
Slam men’s singles titles, ahead of Roger Federer. He became the 5th player, man or woman, to win 20 or
more Grand Slam singles titles after winning the title at Roland Garros last year – after Margaret Court
(24 Grand Slam singles titles), Serena Williams (23), Steffi Graf (22) and Federer (20). He is one of 5 Grand
Slam champions to start in the men’s draw here.
• Nadal is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the 3rd man in history – to win each
of the 4 Grand Slam titles twice. Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only players to have won each Grand
Slam on 2 or more occasions. (NB While Laver completed the feat in 1969, some of the titles were won before
the start of the Open Era.) (see Preview page 2)
• At 34 years 263 days, Nadal is bidding to win his 7th Grand Slam title since turning 30 and extend his Open
Era record for most Grand Slam titles won after turning 30. Since celebrating his 30th birthday on 5 June
2016, Nadal has won 6 major titles – at Roland Garros in 2017-20 and at the US Open in 2017 and 2019.
(NB ages calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Last year here, Nadal reached the quarterfinals but fell to Dominic Thiem in 4 sets.
• Nadal’s best Australian Open performance is winning the title in 2009 (d. Federer). He also reached the
final in 2012, losing to Djokovic in the longest men’s Grand Slam final on record at 5 hours 53 minutes, 2014
(l. Stan Wawrinka), 2017 (l. Federer) and 2019 (l. Djokovic). Of his 8 defeats in Grand Slam finals, 4 have
come at the Australian Open.
• Elsewhere at Grand Slams in 2020, Nadal won his 13th title at Roland Garros, defeating Djokovic in straight
sets in the final. He did not compete at the US Open.
• Also in 2020, Nadal won the title at Acapulco (d. Taylor Fritz), reached the semifinals at Paris-1000
(l. Alexander Zverev) and the ATP Finals (l. Daniil Medvedev), and reached the quarterfinals at Rome-1000
(l. Diego Schwartzman).
• Nadal is contesting his 3rd match of the 2021 season. He was a member of the Spanish squad at the ATP
Cup last week but did not compete at the event due to a back injury, making his first appearance of the season
in the 1st round on Tuesday.
• Nadal is bidding to win his 23rd Tour-level hard court title and equal Jimmy Connors in 7th place on the
Open Era list for most Tour-level hard court titles won. He is currently level with Michael Chang and Andy
Roddick in 8th place on the list. Only Federer (71 Tour-level hard court titles), Djokovic (60), Andre Agassi
(46), Pete Sampras (36), Andy Murray (34), Ivan Lendl (26) and Connors (23) have won more Tour-level hard
court titles than Nadal in the Open Era.
• Nadal is also bidding to win his 87th Tour-level title. Only Connors (109 Tour-level titles), Federer (103) and
Lendl (95) have won more Tour-level titles in the Open Era than Nadal.
• Nadal has been ranked in the Top 10 for 803 consecutive weeks, having been ranked in the Top 10 since
April 2005. He holds the record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10, having surpassed Connors'
mark of 789 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 in November last year. He has spent a total of 209 weeks as
world No. 1 but has been ranked at No. 2 since last February.
• Nadal is a 4-time Davis Cup champion. He made his debut in the competition in 2004 and was part of the
Spanish teams which won the title in 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2019 – among active players, he holds the record
for most Davis Cup titles, alongside Feliciano Lopez. At the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, he won all 8
matches he contested as Spain won their 6th title. As defending champions, Spain have secured a
place at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Nadal is coached by Carlos Moya, who finished runner-up here in 1997, and Francisco Roig.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• NORRIE is bidding to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time. This is his 3rd Australian Open
appearance and his 13th Grand Slam overall.
• Norrie advanced to the 3rd round after defeating No. 30 seed Daniel Evans 64 46 64 75 in the 1st round on
Tuesday and qualifier Roman Safiullin 36 75 63 76(3) in the 2nd round on Thursday for his first Australian
Open match-wins.
• By reaching the 3rd round here Norrie has equalled his best Grand Slam result. He also reached the 3rd
round at the US Open last year, where he defeated No. 9 seed Diego Schwartman and Federico Coria before
falling to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
• Last year here, Norrie fell to Pierre-Hugues Herbert in 5 sets in the 1st round. It was the only 5-set match he
has contested at the Australian Open. He also fell in the 1st round on his only other main draw appearance
here in 2019 (l. Taylor Fritz).
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Norrie fell to Daniel Elahi Galan in 5 sets in the 1st round at Roland
Garros.
• Norrie’s best result in 2020 was reaching the quarterfinals at St Petersburg, where he defeated Fritz and
Miomir Kecmanovic before falling to Andrey Rublev. Apart from his 3rd round finish at the US Open, it was
the only occasion where he recorded back-to-back Tour-level match-wins in 2020.
• Prior to the Australian Open Norrie competed at the Murray River Open in Melbourne, falling to Tommy
Paul in the 1st round. He also competed at Delray Beach last month, reaching the semifinals (l. Sebastian
Korda).
• Norrie is bidding to defeat a Top 5 player for the first time on his 3rd attempt, having lost both of his previous
Tour-level meetings against Top 5 opposition – falling to No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the semifinals at 2019
Acapulco and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in the 2nd round at Shanghai-1000. The highest-ranked player he has
defeated at Tour-level is No. 10 John Isner in the quarterfinals at 2018 Lyon. The highest-ranked player he
has defeated at a Grand Slam is No. 13 Schwartzman in the 1st round at the US Open last year.
• Norrie has won 2 of the 6 five-set matches he has contested. Both of his victories in 5-set matches were
comebacks from 0-2 down – against Roberto Bautista Agut in Great Britain’s 2018 Davis Cup World Group
first round defeat to Spain and against Schwartzman in the 1st round at the US Open last year.
• Norrie broke the Top 50 for the first time in March 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 41 in May
that year. He plays here at No. 69.
• Norrie played college tennis. He represented Texas Christian University and finished his college career in
2017 as the NCAA’s top-ranked male player. He compiled a 77-20 win-loss record in singles in college tennis
from 2014 to 2017.
• Norrie was a good junior, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 10 in March 2013. He reached the 2nd round
on both of his appearances in the boys’ singles here – in 2012 (d. Tudor Cristian Sulea, l. Trey Strobel) and
2013 (d. Liu Siyu, l. Nick Kyrgios).
• Norrie was born in Johannesburg but brought up in New Zealand by his British parents. At the age of 16, he
switched his nationality from New Zealand to Great Britain. He graduated from the LTA's Pro Scholarship
Programme, which supports the best young British players, in 2020.
• Norrie is coached by Facundo Lugones.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 4 DANIIL MEDVEDEV (RUS) v NO. 28 FILIP KRAJINOVIC (SRB)
Head-to-head: Krajinovic leads 1-0
2019 Indian Wells-1000 Hard (O) R32 Krajinovic 63 62
A 2nd Tour-level meeting for Medvedev and Krajinovic and their first at a Grand Slam. At the time of their
previous match, which Krajinovic won in straight sets in the 3rd round at 2019 Indian Wells-1000, Krajinovic
was ranked at No. 113 – 98 places lower than No. 15 Medvedev.
MEDVEDEV v KRAJINOVIC
25 Age 28
4 ATP Ranking 33
9 Titles 0
27-15 Career Grand Slam Record 10-16
9-4 Australian Open Record 5-4
166-86 Career Record 84-79
138-56 Career Record - Hard 66-55
6-0 2021 Record 2-0
6-0 2021 Record - Hard 2-0
0-6 Career Five-Set Record 4-1
53 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 1
53-36 Career Tiebreak Record 26-32
0-0 2021 Tiebreak Record 1-0
• MEDVEDEV is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the 3rd consecutive year and equal his best Australian
Open performance. This is his 5th Australian Open appearance and his 16th Grand Slam overall.
• Should Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rubev all win today and join Aslan Karatsev in the round
of 16, it will be the first time in the Open Era 4 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at a Grand
Slam. If 3 Russian men reach the round of 16 here, it will be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached
the last 16 at a Grand Slam since 2007 Roland Garros, when Igor Andreev, Davydenko and Youzhny all
reached the last 16.
• Should at least 2 of Medvedev, Khachanov and Rublev win today and join Karatsev in the round of 16, it will
be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the Open
Era. There have been 2 Russian men in the last 16 here on 5 occasions in the Open Era – including last year,
when Rublev and Medvedev both reached the round of 16 here.
• Medvedev advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Vasek Pospisil 62 62 64 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and Roberto Carballes Baena 62 75 61 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• With Medvedev, Karatsev, Khachanov and Rublev all reaching the 3rd round here, it is the first time there
have been 4 Russian men in the 3rd round at a Grand Slam since 2007 Wimbledon when Davydenko,
Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov and Youzhny all reached the 3rd round. It is also the first time that 4 Russian
men have reached the 3rd round at the Australian Open since 2007, when Davydenko, Safin, Tursunov and
Youzhny also reached the 3rd round here.
• Medvedev’s best Australian Open performance is reaching the round of 16 on 2 occasions – in 2019
(l. Novak Djokovic) and last year, when he fell to Stan Wawrinka in the only 5-set match he has contested
here. He has lost all 6 five-set matches he has contested at Tour-level overall.
• Medvedev’s best Grand Slam performance is reaching the final at the 2019 US Open, where he fell to
Rafael Nadal in 5 sets. He became the first Russian man to contest a Grand Slam final since Marat Safin at
the 2005 Australian Open.
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Medvedev reached the semifinals at the US Open, falling to eventual
champion Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Medvedev is bidding to become the 3rd Grand Slam men’s singles champion from Russia. The 2 Russian
men to have won Grand Slam titles have both won the Australian Open – Yevgeny Kafelnikov (who won the
titles at 1996 Roland Garros and the 1999 Australian Open) and Safin (2000 US Open and 2005 Australian
Open).
• Medvedev won back-to-back titles to finish the 2020 season – at Paris-1000 (d. Alexander Zverev) and
the ATP Finals (d. Dominic Thiem). At the ATP Finals he defeated No. 1 Novak Djokovic, in the group stages
before defeating No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals and No. 3 Thiem in the final to become the first player in the
event’s history to defeat the Top 3.
• Medvedev’s other 2020 highlights were reaching the quarterfinals at Marseille (l. Gilles Simon), Cincinnati-
1000 (l. Roberto Bautista Agut) and Vienna (l. Kevin Anderson).
• Prior to the Australian Open Medvedev helped Russia to victory at the ATP Cup, with the team defeating
Italy in the final to win the 2nd edition of the competition. He won all 4 matches he contested at the
event, defeating Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Germany’s Zverev and Italy’s Matteo
Berrettini.
• Medvedev is bidding to extend a 16-match Tour-level winning streak. He won 5 matches at Paris-1000 and
another 5 matches the ATP Finals last year, before winning all 4 matches at the ATP Cup last week and his
first 2 matches here. It is the longest Tour-level winning streak of his career, surpassing the 12 consecutive
matches he won in winning the title at Cincinnati-1000 through to finishing runner-up at the US Open in 2019.
• Medvedev reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 after his runner-up finish at the 2019 US Open. He plays
here at the same ranking.
• Medvedev reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 13 in January 2014. His best performance in the
boys’ singles here was reaching the 2nd round in 2013 (d. Hong Seong Chan, l. Nikola Milojevic).
• Medvedev made his Davis Cup debut in February 2017 and has a 4-3 win-loss record in the competition. He
was nominated for the Russian team for the 2019 Davis Cup Finals, but withdrew from the team due to fatigue
prior to the competition. As semifinalists in 2019, Russia have secured a place at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals,
which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Medvedev is coached by Gilles Cervara.
• KRAJINOVIC is bidding to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time. This is his 5th Australian
Open appearance and his 17th Grand Slam overall.
• Krajinovic advanced to the 3rd round here after defeating lucky loser Robin Haase 76(4) 63 46 62 in the 1st
round on Tuesday and Pablo Andujar 62 57 61 64 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• By reaching the 3rd round here, Krajinovic has equalled his best Grand Slam performance. He has reached
the 3rd round at a Grand Slam on 3 other occasions – at the 2019 Australian Open (l. Borna Coric), 2019
Roland Garros (l. Stefanos Tsitsipas) and the 2020 US Open (l. David Goffin).
• Last year here, Krajinovic reached the 2nd round. He defeated Quentin Halys in 5 sets before falling to Roger
Federer in straight sets. He has won both 5-set matches he has contested at the Australian Open, having
also defeated Marco Cecchinato in 5 sets in the 1st round here in 2019, and has a 4-1 win-loss record in
5-set matches overall.
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Krajinovic fell to Nikola Milojevic in the 1st round at Roland Garros.
• Krajinovic’s best results in 2020 were reaching the semifinals at Montpellier and Rotterdam, falling to Gael
Monfils at both events. He also reached the quarterfinals at Cincinnati-1000 (l. Milos Raonic).
• Prior to coming here Krajinovic was a member of the Serbian squad at the ATP Cup in Melbourne. He
contested one doubles match at the event – he and Novak Djokovic defeated Raonic/Denis Shapovalov to
secure a 2-1 win for Serbia in their first group stage tie.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Krajinovic has won one of his last 10 matches against Top 5 opposition. His only victory against a Top 5
player in that time came against No. 3 Dominic Thiem in the 2nd round at Cincinnati-1000 last year. He has
a 2-10 win-loss record against Top 5 opposition at Tour-level and lost the only match he has played against
a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam, to No. 3 Federer in the 2nd round here last year.
• Krajinovic reached a career-high ranking of No. 26 in April 2018. He plays here at No. 33.
• Krajinovic has played Davis Cup for Serbia since 2014. He has an 8-6 overall win-loss record in the
competition, having won 4 of the 5 singles matches he contested in the competition in 2019 as Serbia reached
the quarterfinals. Serbia were awarded a wild card for the 2020 Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged
for 2021.
• Krajinovic is coached by Janko Tipsarevic, whose best result here was reaching the round of 16 in 2013.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 5 STEFANOS TSITSIPAS (GRE) v MIKAEL YMER (SWE)
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas leads 1-0
2020 Marseille Hard (I) R16 Tsitsipas 61 63
Tsitsipas has never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as No. 95 Ymer. The lowest-ranked
player to have defeated Tsitsipas at a Grand Slam is No. 89 Thomas Fabbiano in 5 sets in the 1st round at
2019 Wimbledon. The lowest-ranked player to have defeated Tsitsipas at the Australian Open is No. 50 Denis
Shapovalov in the 1st round on his debut here in 2018.
TSITSIPAS v YMER
22 Age 22
6 ATP Ranking 95
5 Titles 0
23-13 Career Grand Slam Record 4-4
8-3 Australian Open Record 3-1
141-76 Career Record 22-28
92-53 Career Record - Hard 1-19
4-0 2021 Record 2-1
4-0 2021 Record - Hard 2-1
3-4 Career Five-Set Record 3-1
1 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 0
65-51 Career Tiebreak Record 5-10
0-2 2021 Tiebreak Record 1-0
• TSITSIPAS is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the 2nd time. This is his 4th Australian Open
appearance and his 14th Grand Slam overall.
• Tsitsipas advanced to the 3rd round here after defeating Gilles Simon 61 62 61 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 67(5) 64 61 67(5) 64 in the 2nd round on Thursday. His victory against
Kokkinakis was the first 5-set match he has contested at the Australian Open and improved his win-loss
record in 5-set matches to 3-4 at Tour-level overall.
• Last year here, Tsitsipas reached the 3rd round after defeating Salvatore Caruso in the 1st round before
Philipp Kohlschreiber gave a walkover in their 2nd round match due to an abdominal injury. He fell to Milos
Raonic in straight sets in the 3rd round.
• Tsitsipas’ best Grand Slam result is reaching the semifinals on 2 occasions – including at the Australian
Open in 2019, when he defeated Roger Federer in the round of 16 and Roberto Bautista Agut in the
quarterfinals before falling to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He became the first Greek man to reach a Grand
Slam semifinal and, at 20 years 168 days, the youngest man to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam since
Novak Djokovic (20 years 110 days) at the 2007 US Open. He also reached the semifinals at Roland Garros
last year, falling to Djokovic in 5 sets.
• At 22 years 193 days, Tsitsipas is bidding to become the youngest Australian Open men’s singles
champion since Djokovic won the title here in 2008 aged 20 years 250 days. Tsitsipas would also become
the youngest Grand Slam champion since Juan Martin del Potro won the title at the 2009 US Open aged 20
years 355 days. (NB ages calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Tsitsipas reached the 3rd round at the US Open, where he fell to
Borna Coric in 5 sets.
• Tsitsipas’ best result in 2020 was winning the title at Marseille (d. Felix Auger-Aliassime). He also finished
runner-up at Dubai (l. Djokovic) and Hamburg (l. Andrey Rublev), and reached the semifinals at Cincinnati-
1000 (l. Raonic) and Roland Garros.
• Prior to the Australian Open Tsitsipas represented Greece at the ATP Cup. He won both
singles matches he contested, defeating both Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Spain’s Bautista Agut in straight
sets.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Tsitsipas reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in August 2019. He plays here one place lower at No. 6.
• Tsitsipas is a former junior world No. 1. He reached the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles here in 2015
(l. Jurabek Karimov) and 2016 (l. De Minaur). His best result at a junior Grand Slam was reaching
the semifinals of the boys’ singles at 2016 Wimbledon (l. Shapovalov) and at the 2016 US Open (l. Felix
Auger-Aliassime).
• Tsitsipas made his Davis Cup debut in September 2019 and has won all 6 singles matches he has contested
in the competition since then. Greece will play at home to Lithuania in a World Group II tie in September.
• Tsitsipas is coached by his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas.
• YMER is bidding to become the first Swedish man to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam since Robin
Soderling at 2011 Roland Garros. Soderling was also the last Swedish man to reach the round of 16 at the
Australian Open, also in 2011.
• Ymer advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Hubert Hurkacz 36 63 36 75 63 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and qualifier Carlos Alcaraz 26 64 64 76(5) in the 2nd round on Thursday. This is his 2nd Australian Open
appearance and his 5th Grand Slam appearance overall.
• By reaching the 3rd round here, Ymer has recorded his best Grand Slam performance. His previous best
performance at the Grand Slams was reaching the 2nd round on 2 occasions – as a qualifier at 2019 Roland
Garros (d. Blaz Rola, l. Alexander Zverev) and as a direct acceptance on his Australian Open debut last year
(d. Yasutaka Uchiyama, l. Karen Khachanov).
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Ymer lost in the 1st round at both the US Open (Filip Krajinovic)
and Roland Garros (l. Novak Djokovic).
• By reaching the 3rd round here, Ymer has recorded back-to-back match-wins at a Tour-level event for the
first time. He reached the 2nd round at 4 Tour-level events in 2020 – as a qualifier at Auckland (d. Frances
Tiafoe, l. Hurkacz) and as a direct acceptance at the Australian Open, Montpellier (d. Jannik Sinner,
l. Krajinovic) and Marseille (d. Richard Gasquet, l. Tsitsipas).
• Prior to the Australian Open Ymer competed at the Murray River Open in Melbourne, falling to Adrian
Mannarino in the 1st round.
• Ymer is bidding to defeat a Top 10 player for the first time on his 4th attempt. He has lost all three of his
previous matches against Top 10 opposition – falling to No. 5 Zverev at 2019 Roland Garros, to No. 6 Tsitsipas
in the 2nd round at 2020 Marseille and to No. 1 Djokovic at 2020 Roland Garros. The highest-ranked player
he has defeated is No. 30 Hurkacz in the 1st round here this year.
• Ymer broke the Top 100 for the first time in September 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 67 in
March last year. He plays here at No. 95.
• By defeating Hurkacz in 5 sets in the 1st round here, Ymer recorded his first 5-set match-win at the
Australian Open. He lost the only other 5-set match he has contested here, against Khachanov in the 2nd
round here last year. He has a 3-1 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
• Ymer’s older brother, Elias, also contested the main draw here this year – as a qualifier, fell to No. 8 seed
Diego Schwartzman in the 1st round on Monday. It is the first time that the Ymer brothers have both competed
in the main draw at a Grand Slam.
• Ymer has won one Tour-level doubles title. In 2016, he and brother Elias won the title as a wild card team
at Stockholm (d. Mate Pavic/Michael Venus), becoming the first Swedish pair to win the Stockholm title since
Nicklas Kulti/Mikael Tillstrom in 1998.
• Ymer had a successful junior career. He reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 3 and reached the final
of the boys’ singles at 2015 Wimbledon (l. Reilly Opelka) and the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles at the US
Open in 2014 (l. Jan Choinski) and 2015 (l. Chung Yunseong). He reached the 2nd round on both of
appearances in the boys’ singles here – in 2014 (d. Kennosuke Nouchi, l. Matteo Berrettini) and 2015
(d. Blake Ellis, l. Sameer Kumar).
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Ymer has played Davis Cup for Sweden since 2015 and has a 11-4 win-loss in the competition. He won both
singles matches he contested in Sweden’s victory over Chile in the Davis Cup Qualifiers, securing Sweden’s
place at the next Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Ymer is coached by Frederik Nielsen and Kalle Norberg.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 7 ANDREY RUBLEV (RUS) v FELICIANO LOPEZ (ESP)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Rublev has lost Grand Slam matches to players ranked as low as No. 65 Lopez on 2 previous occasions –
falling to No. 81 Mackenzie McDonald in the 1st round here in 2019 and to No. 65 Sam Querrey in the 2nd
round at 2019 Wimbledon.
Rublev is facing a lefthanded player for the 2nd straight round. Prior to defeating Thiago Monteiro in the 2nd
round here on Thursday, he had lost both of his matches against lefthanded players at the Grand Slams –
falling to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the 2nd round at 2017 Wimbledon and to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals
at the 2017 US Open. He has a 17-8 win-loss record against lefthanders at Tour-level overall.
RUBLEV v LOPEZ
23 Age 39
8 ATP Ranking 65
7 Titles 7
25-13 Career Grand Slam Record 98-75
8-4 Australian Open Record 24-18
138-89 Career Record 494-456
109-68 Career Record - Hard 274-268
6-0 2021 Record 2-1
6-0 2021 Record - Hard 2-1
3-3 Career Five-Set Record 25-11
1 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 5
43-52 Career Tiebreak Record 316-270
1-0 2021 Tiebreak Record 1-1
• RUBLEV is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the 2nd time and equal his best Australian Open
performance. This is his 5th Australian Open and his 14th Grand Slam overall.
• Should Rublev, Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev all win today and join Aslan Karatsev in the round of
16, it will be the first time in the Open Era 4 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam.
If 3 Russian men reach the round of 16 here, it will be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached the last
16 at a Grand Slam since 2007 Roland Garros, when Igor Andreev, Davydenko and Youzhny all reached the
last 16.
• Should at least 2 of Rublev, Khachanov and Medvedev win today and join Karatsev in the round of 16, it will
be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the Open
Era. There have been 2 Russian men in the last 16 here on 5 occasions in the Open Era – including last year,
when Rublev and Medvedev both reached the round of 16 here.
• Rublev advanced to the 3rd round defeating Yannick Hanfmann 63 63 64 in the 1st round on Tuesday and
Thiago Monteiro 64 64 76(8) in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• With Rublev, Karatsev, Khachanov and Medvedev all reaching the 3rd round here, it is the first time there
have been 4 Russian men in the 3rd round at a Grand Slam since 2007 Wimbledon when Davydenko,
Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov and Youzhny all reached the 3rd round. It is also the first time that 4 Russian
men have reached the 3rd round at the Australian Open since 2007, when Davydenko, Safin, Tursunov and
Youzhny also reached the 3rd round here.
• Last year here, Rublev recorded his best Australian Open performance by reaching the round of 16. He
defeated Christopher O’Connell, Yuichi Sugita and David Goffin before falling to Alexander Zverev in straight
sets.
• Rublev’s best Grand Slam performance is reaching the quarterfinals on 3 occasions – including at the 2020
US Open (l. Daniil Medvedev) and 2020 Roland Garros (l. Stefanos Tsitsipas). He also reached the
quarterfinals at the 2017 US Open (l. Rafael Nadal), where he became the youngest player to reach the last
8 at the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2001.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Rublev is bidding to become the 3rd Grand Slam men’s singles champion from Russia. The 2 Russian
men to have won Grand Slam titles have both won the Australian Open – Yevgeny Kafelnikov (who won the
titles at 1996 Roland Garros and 1999 Australian Open) and Safin (2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open).
• At 23 years 124 days, Rublev is looking to become the youngest Australian Open men’s singles champion
since Nadal won the title here in 2009 aged 22 years 243 days. Rublev would also become the youngest
Grand Slam champion since Juan Martin del Potro won the title at the 2009 US Open aged 20 years 355
days. (NB ages calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Rublev won 5 Tour-level titles in 2020, more than any other player on Tour. He won the titles at both Doha
(d. Corentin Moutet) and Adelaide (d. Lloyd Harris), becoming the first man to win 2 titles in the opening 2
weeks of the season since Dominik Hrbaty, who won the titles at Adelaide and Auckland in the opening 2
weeks of 2004. He also won the titles at Hamburg (d. Tistsipas), St Petersburg (d. Borna Coric) and Vienna
(d. Lorenzo Sonego).
• As well as winning more titles than any other player in 2020, Rublev finished the season joint-top of the list
for most Tour-level match-wins in 2020, level with Novak Djokovic. He had a 41-10 win-loss record during
the 2020 season and qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time, finishing in 4th place in his group with a
1-2 win-loss record.
• Prior to the Australian Open Rublev helped Russia to victory at the ATP Cup, with the team defeating Italy
in the final to win the 2nd edition of the competition. He won all 4 singles matches he contested, defeating
Argentina’s Guido Pella, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
• Rublev broke the Top 10 for the first time in October last year, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 8. He
plays here at the same ranking.
• Rublev is a former junior world No. 1 having topped the boys’ rankings for the first time in June 2014 after
winning the boys’ singles title at 2014 Roland Garros. He reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 Junior
Australian Open (l. Stefan Kozlov) and finished runner-up in the boys’ doubles with Kozlov at 2014
Wimbledon. He also won two medals at the Youth Olympic Tennis Event in Nanjing later that year, winning
boys’ singles bronze and boys’ doubles silver with Karen Khachanov. He was named 2014 ITF Junior World
Champion.
• Rublev has played Davis Cup for Russia since 2014 and has a 14-9 win-loss record in the competition. He
won all 4 singles matches he contested at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid as Russia reached the
semifinals before falling to Canada. As semifinalists in 2019, Russia have secured a place at the 2020 Davis
Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Rublev is coached by Fernando Vicente.
• Lefthander LOPEZ is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the 3rd time – and the first time since 2015 –
and equal his best Australian Open performance.
• Aged 39 years 154 days, Lopez is bidding to become the oldest man to reach the round of 16 at a Grand
Slam since Ken Rosewall (44 years 62 days) at the 1978 Australian Open. (NB the Australian Open used a
64-draw in until 1981, meaning the round of 16 was the 3rd round; Lopez would become the oldest man to
reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event using a 128-draw since Rosewall (40 years 245 days) at 1975
Wimbledon) (NB ages calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Lopez advanced to the 3rd round after defeating wild card Li Tu 67(1) 64 76(4) 64 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and No. 31 seed Lorenzo Sonego 57 36 63 75 64 in the 2nd round on Thursday for his first Australian Open
match-wins since 2016.
• By defeating Sonego in 5 sets in the 2nd round, Lopez improved his record in 5-set matches at the Australian
Open to 4-4 and to 25-11 overall. He is on a 6-match winning streak in 5-set matches, having not lost a
5-set match since falling to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the 2nd round at 2015 Wimbledon.
• By recovering from 0-2 down to defeat Sonego in 5 sets, Lopez became the oldest man to record a
successful comeback from 0-2 down since Rosewall (39 years 246 days) recovered from 0-2 down to
defeat Stan Smith in the semifinals at 1974 Wimbledon.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Last year here, Lopez fell to Roberto Bautista Agut in the 1st round. He also fell in the 1st round here in 2017
(l. Fabio Fognini), 2018 (l. Sam Querrey) and 2019 (l. Jordan Thompson).
• Lopez’s victory over Tu in the 1st round ended a 4-match Grand Slam losing streak. He had not previously
recorded a match-win at the Grand Slams since the 2019 US Open, when he defeated Taylor Fritz and
Yoshihito before falling to Daniil Medvedev in the 3rd round. In addition to his 1st round defeat here last year,
he also fell in the 1st round at both the US Open (l. Roberto Carballes Baena) and Roland Garros (l. Daniel
Altmaier) in 2020.
• Lopez’s best Australian Open performance is reaching the round of 16 on two occasions – in 2012 (l. Rafael
Nadal) and in 2015 (l. Milos Raonic).
• Lopez’s best Grand Slam performance is reaching the quarterfinals on 4 occasions. He has reached the
last 8 at Wimbledon 3 times – as No. 26 seed in 2005 (l. Lleyton Hewitt), as No. 30 seed in 2008 (l. Marat
Safin) and unseeded in 2011 (l. Andy Murray) – and also reached the quarterfinals at the 2015 US Open
(l. Novak Djokovic).
• By appearing in his 75th consecutive Grand Slam event, Lopez has extended his record for most
consecutive Grand Slam men’s singles appearances. Lopez has appeared at every Grand Slam event
since 2002 Roland Garros. This is his 76th Grand Slam appearance in total, putting him in 2nd place on the
Open Era list for most Grand Slam appearances behind Roger Federer (79 Grand Slam appearances).
• By making his 19th appearance at the Australian Open, Lopez has claimed sole ownership of 3rd place on
the list for most Australian Open men’s singles appearances, ahead of Fabrice Santoro. Lopez has
contested the Australian Open every year since making his debut here in 2003. Federer (21 Australian Open
appearances) and Hewitt (20) are the only players to have made more appearances here than Lopez.
• Lopez’s best results in 2020 were reaching the quarterfinals at both Auckland (l. Hubert Hurkacz) and
Kitzbuhel (l. Marc-Andrea Huesler). They were the only occasions where he recorded back-to-back Tour-level
match-wins last year.
• Prior to the Australian Open Lopez competed at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melborune where, as
No. 16 seed, he fell to Kevin Anderson in the 1st round.
• Lopez is bidding to record 3 consecutive Tour-level match-wins for the first time since he recorded 5
straight victories to win the title at 2019 Queen’s.
• Lopez has won just one of his last 16 mateches against Top 10 players at the Grand Slams. His only
victory against a Top 10 player at a Grand Slam in that time came against No. 10 Milos Raonic in the 3rd
round at the 2015 US Open. He has a 4-26 win-loss record against Top 10 opposition at the Grand Slams
and a 38-96 win-loss record against Top 10 opponents at Tour-level overall.
• Lopez has won 7 Tour-level singles titles – most recently at 2019 Queen’s (d. Gilles Simon). Of his 7 titles,
only his first 2 came on hard courts – at 2004 Vienna (d. Guillermo Canas) and 2010 Johannesburg
(d. Stephane Robert).
• Lopez is a former Top 20 player, having reached a career-high ranking of No. 12 in March 2015. In April
2019 he dropped outside the Top 100 for the first time since July 2002, having spent 877 consecutive weeks
in the Top 100. He re-entered the Top 100 after winning the title at 2019 Queen’s and has remained inside
the Top 100 since then. He plays here at No. 65.
• Lopez is a Grand Slam doubles champion. He won the men’s doubles title alongside Marc Lopez at 2016
Roland Garros (d. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan). The pair became first Spanish pairing to win the Roland Garros
men's doubles title since since Sergio Casal/Emilio Sanchez in 1990.
• Lopez has played Davis Cup for Spain since 2003 and has an 17-22 win-loss record in the competition. At
the 2019 Finals, he lost the only singles match he contested to Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund, but won 2
decisive doubles matches as Spain won the Davis Cup title for the 6th time. He has been part of 4 Davis Cup
title-winning teams – the joint-most among active players, alongside Rafael Nadal. As defending champions,
Spain secured a place at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Lopez is currently without a coach.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 9 MATTEO BERRETTINI (ITA) v NO. 19 KAREN KHACHANOV (RUS)
Head-to-head: Berrettini leads 3-0
2019 Sofia Hard (I) R16 Berrettini 67(6) 63 64
2019 Stuttgart Grass (O) R16 Berrettini 64 62
2019 Halle Grass (O) QF Berrettini 62 76(4)
A 4th Tour-level meeting for Berrettini and Khachanov, their 2nd on a hard court and their first at a Grand
Slam. All 3 of their previous meetings came during the 2019 season.
BERRETTINI v KHACHANOV
24 Age 24
10 ATP Ranking 20
3 Titles 4
20-11 Career Grand Slam Record 33-16
3-3 Australian Open Record 8-4
78-53 Career Record 144-114
37-34 Career Record - Hard 94-79
7-2 2021 Record 5-1
7-2 2021 Record - Hard 5-1
3-1 Career Five-Set Record 5-5
38 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 2
38-35 Career Tiebreak Record 76-83
1-1 2021 Tiebreak Record 3-4
• BERRETTINI is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the first time. This is his 4th Australian Open and
his 12th Grand Slam appearance overall.
• Berrettini is bidding to become the 6th Italian man to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the
Open Era – after Andreas Seppi (4 Australian Open round of 16 appearances), Fabio Fognini (who is bidding
to reach the round of 16 here for the 4th time this year), and Omar Camporese, Cristiano Caratti and Renzo
Furlan (all one).
• If Berrettini and Fognini, who plays Alex de Minaur in the 3rd round today, both reach the round of 16 here, it
will be the 2nd time in the Open Era that multiple Italian men have reached the last 16 at the Australian
Open – after 2018, when Fognini and Seppi both reached the last 16 here. It will also be the 9th time that
multiple Italian men have reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam in the Open Era, with the other 7 times
happening at Roland Garros – in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 2018 and 2020.
• Berrettini advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Kevin Anderson 76(9) 75 63 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and qualifier Tomas Machac 63 62 46 63 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• By reaching the 3rd round, Berrettini has recorded his best Australian Open result. His previous best result
here was reaching the 2nd round last year, when he defeated wild card Andrew Harris for his first Australian
Open match-win before falling to Tennys Sandgren in 5 sets.
• Berrettini recorded his best Grand Slam result at the 2019 US Open, where he became the 4th Italian man
in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal – after Adriano Panatta (1973, 1975 Roland Garros), Corrado
Barazzutti (1977 US Open, 1978 Roland Garros) and Marco Cecchinato (2018 Roland Garros). He fell to
eventual champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the last 4.
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Berrettini reached the round of 16 at the US Open (l. Andrey Rublev)
and the 3rd round at Roland Garros (l. Daniel Altmaier).
• Berrettini’s best result in 2020 was reaching the quarterfinals at Rome-1000 (l. Casper Ruud). He contested
a total of 6 events in 2020 after struggling with a groin injury early in the season.
• Prior to the Australian Open Berrettini represented Italy at the ATP Cup in Melbourne, winning 3 of the 4
singles matches he contested as Italy finished runners-up to Russia. He defeated Austria’s Dominic Thiem,
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesFrance’s Gael Monfils and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, but fell to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final. He
also competed at Antalya last month, reaching the quarterfinals (l. Alexander Bublik).
• Berrettini’s defeat to Sandgren in the 2nd round here last year was his first defeat in a 5-set match. He had
won the 3 five-set matches that he had contested prior to that defeat.
• Berrettini has won 3 Tour-level singles titles – on clay at 2018 Gstaad (d. Bautista Agut) and 2019 Budapest
(d. Filip Krajinovic), and on grass at 2019 Stuttgart (d. Felix Auger-Aliassime).
• Berrettini reached a career-high ranking of No. 8 in November 2019 becoming the highest-ranked Italian
man since No. 8 Barazzutti in 1978. He plays here 2 places lower at No. 10.
• Berrettini made his Davis Cup debut in 2019 during Italy’s victory against India in the 2019 Qualifiers. He also
competed at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, losing both singles matches he contested, falling to Denis
Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz. Italy have secured a place at the next Davis Cup Finals, which have been
rearranged for 2021.
• Berrettini is coached by Vincenzo Santopadre, Marco Gulisano and Umberto Rianna.
• KHACHANOV is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the first time. This is his 5th Australian Open
appearance and his 17th Grand Slam overall.
• Should Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev all win today and join Aslan Karatsev in the round
of 16, it will be the first time in the Open Era 4 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at a Grand
Slam. If 3 Russian men reach the round of 16 here, it will be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached
the last 16 at a Grand Slam since 2007 Roland Garros, when Igor Andreev, Davydenko and Youzhny all
reached the last 16.
• Should at least 2 of Khachanov, Medvedev and Rublev win today and join Karatsev in the round of 16, it will
be the first time that 3 Russian men have reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the Open
Era. There have been 2 Russian men in the last 16 here on 5 occasions in the Open Era – including last year,
when Rublev and Medvedev both reached the round of 16 here.
• Khachanov advanced to the 3rd round after defeating wild card Aleksandar Vukic 63 67(4) 76(2) 64 in the 1st
round on Tuesday and Ricardas Berankis 62 64 64 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• With Rublev, Karatsev, Khachanov and Medvedev all reaching the 3rd round here, it is the first time there
have been 4 Russian men in the 3rd round at a Grand Slam since 2007 Wimbledon when Davydenko,
Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov and Youzhny all reached the 3rd round. It is also the first time that 4 Russian
men have reached the 3rd round at the Australian Open since 2007, when Davydenko, Safin, Tursunov and
Youzhny also reached the 3rd round here.
• By reaching the 3rd round here, Khachanov has equalled his best Australian Open result. He also reached
the 3rd round here in 2019 (l. Roberto Bautista Agut) and 2020 (l. Nick Kyrgios).
• Khachanov’s best Grand Slam result is reaching the quarterfinals at 2019 Roland Garros. He
defeated Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Gregoire Barrere, Martin Klizan and Juan Martin del Potro before falling to
Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Khachanov reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros (l. Novak
Djokovic) and the 3rd round at the US Open, where he fell to Alex de Minaur in 5 sets. He has a 1-1 win-loss
record in 5-set matches at the Australian Open and a 5-5 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
• Khachanov’s best results in 2020 were reaching the quarterfinals at Dubai (l. Djokovic), St Petersburg
(l. Milos Raonic) and Antwerp (l. Daniel Evans).
• Khachanov warmed up for the Australian Open at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne where, as
No. 2 seed, he reached the semifinals (l. Jannik Sinner).
• Khachanov broke the Top 10 for the first time in June 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 8 the
following month. He plays here at No. 20.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Khachanov won the boys’ doubles silver medal alongside Andrey Rublev at the 2014 Youth Olympic Tennis
Event in Nanjing, China. The pair fell to Orlando Luz/Marcelo Zormann in the gold medal match. He fell
to Nishioka in the 1st round on his only appearance in the boys’ singles here in 2013.
• Khachanov has played Davis Cup for Russia since 2013 and has a 7-7 win-loss record in singles matches in
the competition. He was part of the Russian team that reached the semifinals at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in
Madrid, winning 3 of the 8 matches he contested at the Finals. As semifinalists in 2019, Russia have secured
a place at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Khachanov is coached by Frederik Rosengren.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesNO. 16 FABIO FOGNINI (ITA) v NO. 21 ALEX DE MINAUR (AUS)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Fognini is facing an Australian player at the Australian Open for the 2nd time. He won his only previous
meeting with a home player here, defeating Jordan Thompson in 5 sets in the 2nd round last year. He has an
8-5 win-loss record against Australian players at Tour-level overall.
Fognini has a 6-8 win-loss record against players at their home Grand Slams. In addition to his 1-0 win-loss
record against Australian players at the Australian Open, he has a 3-3 win-loss record against Frenchmen at
Roland Garros, a 2-4 win-loss record against Americans at the US Open, and a 0-1 win-loss record against
Brits at Wimbledon.
FOGNINI v DE MINAUR
33 Age 21*
17 ATP Ranking 23
9 Titles 4
59-48 Career Grand Slam Record 18-13
15-13 Australian Open Record 5-3
368-318 Career Record 91-60
140-152 Career Record - Hard 85-43
5-3 2021 Record 7-2
5-3 2021 Record - Hard 7-2
23-13 Career Five-Set Record 3-3
8 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 0
137-111 Career Tiebreak Record 40-30
4-2 2021 Tiebreak Record 0-0
*Celebrates 22nd birthday on Wednesday 17 February
• FOGNINI is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the 4th time and equal Andreas Seppi’s all-time record
for most Australian Open round of 16 appearances by an Italian man.
• Fognini is also bidding to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the 8th time and equal Adriano Panatta
in 3rd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam round of 16 appearances by an Italian man.
Most Grand Slam round of 16 appearances by an Italian man (all-time)
Player No. of appearances
Nicola Pietrangeli 16
Giuseppe Merlo 9
Fabio Fognini 8??
Adriano Panatta 8
Giorgio de Stefani 7
• If Fognini and Matteo Berrettini, who plays Karen Khachanov in the 3rd round today, both reach the round of
16 here, it will be the 2nd time in the Open Era that multiple Italian men have reached the last 16 at the
Australian Open – after 2018, when Fognini and Seppi both reached the last 16 here. It will also be the 9th
time that multiple Italian men have reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam in the Open Era, with the other 7
times happening at Roland Garros – in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 2018 and 2020.
• Fognini advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 64 62 63 in the 1st round on
Tuesday and Salvatore Caruso 46 62 26 63 76(12) in the 2nd round on Thursday. He saved one match point
in his 5-set victory against Caruso.
• Fognini’s victory against Caruso in the 2nd round here was his 3rd victory in a final-set tiebreak at the
Australian Open, having also won back-to-back matches in final-set tiebreaks against Reilly Opelka and
Jordan Thompson in the opening 2 rounds last year. Since the final-set tiebreak was introduced here in 2019,
he has contested more final-set tiebreaks than any other player, winning all 3 final-set tiebreaks that he has
played.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Fognini has won 11 of the last 12 five-set matches he has contested – including his victory against Caruso
in the 2nd round here. His only defeat in a 5-set match in that time came against Marin Cilic in the round of
16 here at 2018 Roland Garros. He has a 4-3 win-loss record in 5-set matches at the Australian Open and a
23-13 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
• Fognini is making his 50th Grand Slam appearance. He is the 19th active player to reach 50 Grand Slam
appearances. This is his 14th appearance at the Australian Open.
• Fognini is bidding to record his 60th Grand Slam match-win and claim sole ownership of 3rd place on the
all-time list for most Grand Slam match-wins by an Italian man, ahead of Seppi.
Most Grand Slam match-wins by an Italian man (all-time)
Rank Player Grand Slam win-loss
1. Nicola Pietrangeli 90-39
2. Adriano Panatta 62-30
3= Fabio Fognini 59-48
Andreas Seppi 59-63
5. Martin Mulligan 52-32
• Last year here, Fognini equalled his best Australian Open performance by reaching the round of 16
(l. Tennys Sandgren). He has also reached the round of 16 here in 2014 (l. Novak Djokovic) and 2018
(l. Tomas Berdych).
• Fognini’s best Grand Slam performance is reaching the quarterfinals at 2011 Roland Garros when he
became the first Italian man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since Davide Sanguinetti at 1998
Wimbledon. He gave a walkover to Djokovic in his quarterfinal match due to a thigh strain – the first time a
player had given a walkover in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at a Grand Slam since Stefan Edberg
pulled out of his match with Thomas Muster at the 1989 Australian Open.
• Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2020, Fognini fell to Mikhail Kukushkin in the 1st round at Roland Garros.
He did not compete at the US Open.
• Fognini recorded one match-win between the resumption of play in August and the end of the 2020
season, in a 2nd round finish at Hamburg (d. Philipp Kohlschreiber, l. Casper Ruud). He lost his opening
match at the 3 other events he contested during that time.
• Prior to the Australian Open Fognini represented Italy at the ATP Cup. He won 2 of the 4 singles matches
he contested as Italy finished runners-up to Russia, defeating France’s Benoit Paire and Spain’s Pablo
Carreno Busta but falling to Austria’s Dennis Novak and Russia’s Andrey Rublev. He also competed at
Antalya last month where, as No. 3 seed, he reached the 2nd round (d. Michael Vrbensky, l. Jeremy Chardy).
• Fognini has won 9 Tour-level singles titles, 8 of which have been on clay. His only title on hard courts came
at 2018 Los Cabos (d. Juan Martin del Potro).
• Fognini has won 11 of the last 12 five-set matches he has contested – including his victory against Caruso
in the 2nd round here. His only defeat in a 5-set match in that time came against Marin Cilic in the round of
16 here at 2018 Roland Garros. He has a 4-3 win-loss record in 5-set matches at the Australian Open and a
23-13 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
• Fognini broke the Top 10 for the first time in June 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 9 the
following month. He plays here at No. 17.
• Fognini is an Australian Open doubles champion. He partnered Simone Bolelli to the title here in 2015,
defeating Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut to become the first all-Italian pairing to win a Grand Slam
men’s doubles title since Nicola Pietrangeli/Orlando Sirola at 1959 Roland Garros and the first all-Italian
pairing in history to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title.
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notes• Fognini reached the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles here in 2004, falling to eventual champion Gael
Monfils. He also reached the last 8 at 2004 Junior Roland Garros. He reached a career-high junior ranking of
No. 8 in May 2004.
• Fognini has played Davis Cup for Italy since 2008 and has a 32-15 win-loss record in the competition. He
won the only match he contested in Italy’s victory over Korea, Republic in the Qualifiers last year. The result
secured Italy’s place at the 2020 Davis Cup Finals, which have been rearranged for 2021.
• Fognini is coached by Alberto Mancini.
• DE MINAUR is bidding to reach the round of 16 here for the first time. This is his 4th Australian Open
appearance and his 14th Grand Slam overall.
• De Minaur is bidding to become the 55th Australian man to reach the round of 16 here in the Open Era.
He would also become the 3rd Australian man to reach the last 16 here since Lleyton Hewitt reached the last
16 here for the final time in 2012 – after Bernard Tomic (2012, 2015, 2016) and Nick Kyrgios (2015, 2018,
2020). (NB written prior to conclusion of Kyrgios’ 3rd round match on Friday)
• De Minaur advanced to the 3rd round after defeating Tennys Sandgren 75 61 61 in the 1st round on Tuesday
and Pablo Cuevas 63 63 75 in the 2nd round on Thursday.
• By reaching the 3rd round here, De Minaur has equalled his best Australian Open performance. He also
reached the 3rd round here in 2019, defeating Pedro Sousa and Henri Laaksonen before falling to Rafael
Nadal. He missed the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury last year.
• De Minaur recorded his best Grand Slam performance by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2020 US Open,
where he fell to eventual champion Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
• Also in Grand Slam play in 2020, De Minaur fell to Marco Cecchinato in straight sets in the 1st round at
Roland Garros.
• De Minaur’s best results in 2020 were finishing runner-up at Antwerp (l. Ugo Humbert) and reaching the
quarterfinals at the US Open and Sofia (l. Jannik Sinner). He also won his first Tour-level doubles title at
Cincinnati-1000, partnering Pablo Carreno Busta (d. Jamie Murray/Neal Skupski).
• Prior to coming here De Minaur won his 4th Tour-level title at Antalya, winning the final when Alexander
Bublik retired due to a right ankle injury. He also represented Australia at the ATP Cup last week, but lost
both matches he contested, falling to Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
• De Minaur is bidding to defeat a Top 20 player at a Grand Slam for the 3rd time on his 10th attempt. He
has a 2-7 win-loss record against Top 20 opposition at the Grand Slams, with his victories coming against
No. 7 Kei Nishikori in the 3rd round at the 2019 US Open and No. 16 Karen Khachanov in the 3rd round at
the 2020 US Open. He has an 11-23 win-loss record against Top 20 opposition at Tour-level overall.
• De Minaur is one of 2 Australian men through to the 3rd round (along with Kyrgios) from the 13 who started
this year’s Australian Open main draw – the most Australian men to begin the main draw here since 2000,
when there were also 13. He is looking to become the first native champion to win the Australian Open men’s
singles title since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
• De Minaur has won both 5-set matches he has contested at the Australian Open, having defeated Gerald
Melzer in 5 sets in the 1st round in 2017 and Laaksonen in 5 sets in the 2nd round in 2019. He has a 3-3
win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
• De Minaur broke the Top 20 in October 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 18 the same month.
He plays here 5 places lower at No. 23.
• De Minaur reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 2 in February 2016. He reached the semifinals of
the boys’ singles at the 2016 Australian Open (l. Jurabek Karimov) and won the doubles event alongside
Blake Ellis. He also finished runner-up in the boys’ singles event at 2016 Wimbledon (l. Denis Shapovalov).
2021 Australian Open day 6 men’s match notesYou can also read
