ATP Finals Nitto 2020 Will measure Saturday with Medvedev for a place in the final
RAfael Nadal qualified this Thursday for the sixth time for the semifinals of the Masters Cup, the only major trophy missing from his palmars. Did after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2, in the match that closed the London 2020 group.
The victory allows Rafa to return to the top four of the ATP Finals for the first time in five years. The last time that the Balearic had been in contention the weekend where the title is decided was in 2015.
Of the eight tennis players classified then only Nadal and Novak Djokovic remain today. The other six were Roger Federer (injured), Andy Murray (injured), Kei Nishikori (injured), David Ferrer (retired), Tomas Berdych (retired) and Stan Wawrinka.
Tsitsipas arrived in London this season helped by the ranking freeze due to the pandemic. Otherwise, it would hardly have been. The defender of the master’s crown lost it in the ’round robin’ because in 2020 it has proven to be stuck in its progression. The most he has done is win an Open 250 in Marseille, final in Dubi and Hamburg, and semifinals at Cincinnati and Roland Garros.
Nadal had gotten the confidence he needed in his match with Dominic Thiem. Despite the defeat against the Austrian, he knew that playing at that level he was able to win over his Greek rival. Stefanos had made it to the final match alive after Andrey Rublev squandered a trump ball in their direct duel.
The world number six held on as he maintained his inspiration with service. Rafa gave the first warning with two ‘break’ balls in the seventh game of the opening round. The world number two felt very comfortable serving because he directed it backwards to a hand from Tsitsipas. It is the same tactic that has given him so much success against Federer The second double fault condemns Stefanos in the ninth round.
Nadal was bordering on perfection with four unforced errors. Of the 10 of Stefanos, six had been with the reverse. It was of little use to him to prepare the game with another famous left-hander like Denis Shapovalov, substitute for the competition.
Sixth sense
The moment @RafaelNadal reached the last four of the #NittoATPFinals for the sixth time! pic.twitter.com/6WNsk60bT5
? Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 19, 2020
The Balearic, in the continuation, I only made three mistakes. What happens is that one of them it was double fault at the time he had a set point against. Tables on the scoreboard when not even the Athenian expected it. The script had gone crazy with three ‘breaks’ in a row, two in favor of the Spanish. Everything returned to normal and the best one won.
Daniil Medvedev awaits Nadal on Saturday, who still has to play his third match tomorrow, but is already the leader of the group Tokyo 1970. The Russian will be able to calmly take his confrontation with Diego Schwartzman.
The more rest day for the Spaniard would have been an advantage if Daniil had had to risk it on Friday. But he did his homework after defeating Djokovic.
Both have met three times and the champion of 20 majors has always won: Canadian finals and US Open 2019 and the group stage of the last Masters. This last game continues to be remembered because the Muscovite missed a 5-1 lead and a winning ball in the third set.
Rafa falls below the barrier of 2,000 points of difference with the Serbian in the ATP ranking. The rent is momentarily fixed at 1,980 points. If he manages to reduce it below 1,640 points, he will have mathematical options to snatch the world title from Nole in the next edition of the Australian Open.
For now, Dominic Thiem’s defeat to Andrey Rublev ensured him finishing second in 2020. It is the twelfth season that ends between the two best rackets.
.
