Australian Open - 'They're going to kill each other!' - Corretja on Novak Djokovic v Daniil Medvedev

Updated 21/02/2021 at 07:52 GMT

Eurosport expert Alex Corretja has given his thoughts ahead of the 2021 Australian Open showpiece on Sunday between world number one Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, and the Spaniard believes it is going to be a ferocious final. "They're going to kill each other," Corretja joked, and predicted a fiery match up.

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Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev are both incredible competitors who will be out to destroy each other in the Australian Open final, according to Eurosport's Alex Corretja.

The Russian was in outrageously good form yet again as he ruthlessly disposed of Stefanos Tsitsipas to secure his 20th successive victory in style on Friday.

A day earlier, the top-seeded Djokovic cruised past another Russian, qualifier Aslan Karatsev, in straight sets to reach his ninth final at Melbourne Park.

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Corretja, who twice reached the final at Roland Garros, predicted a ferocious final between the pair and did not hold back with his forecast for the intensity of the clash.

"They both need their serves, and their backhands are both unbelievable," Corretja told Eurosport. "Forehands? Novak moves his wrists a little bit more, but not too much more than Daniil.

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"I think they will play like a mirror to each other with unbelievable backhand cross-courts, and they will change it up with down-the-line shots. They are both great competitors.

I think they are going to kill each other! I am expecting a very long match as both play a very similar game style.

"The only thing I see a little bit different is that Novak Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slam titles, with eight of them in Melbourne.

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"But if you just think about the form of both of them, I think Medvedev has been showing that he is a guy coming into the tournament in better shape, and he has kept that momentum going.

"He is going to be so, so difficult to beat and Novak will need to be at his best. He will need to be very clear about his game plan and the way he wants to play because both are unbelievable defenders. They both like to attack, but they usually don’t like to be attacking all the time.

"It’s going to be interesting to see who gets the dominance over the other side of the court and in which moments. They both rely on their serves, especially Daniil, even if Novak has improved so much with his.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes on for more than 3.5 or 4 hours because this is pretty much what I am expecting. If both players are healthy, we are going to have a hell of a match.

"Maybe I am leaning slightly towards Novak, but just slightly, maybe 55-45 in favour of Novak."

Speaking in the Eurosport Cube on Friday, Mats Wilander said Medvedev would be "out to cause hell for his opponent" in the final, with Djokovic aiming for his 18th Grand Slam title.