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Daniil Medvedev of Russia hits a forehand against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day 4 of the ATP Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena on November 18, 2020.
Photo by TPN / Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev issued Rafael Nadal packing up after a grueling fight at the ATP Finals in London on Saturday to set up a title match against Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Dominic Thiem.
The Spanish number 2 in the world, who has never won the elite event in his illustrious career, hesitated to serve for the match in the second set and was defeated 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Previously, US Open champion Thiem rallied from a 4-0 loss in the third set tie-break against Djokovic to win 7-5, 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7 / 5).
Russian giant Medvedev, who has won nine matches in a row, put Nadal’s serve under intense pressure in the early stages of their match that night at the empty O2 Arena.
But he couldn’t make his chances count and a drop in his level allowed the Spaniard to break love to lead 5-3 before serving for the set.
Medvedev immediately found his focus early in the second set, winning his first service game before Nadal, a two-time finalist in the event, double-faulted to give the Russian a 2-0 lead.
Just when it looked like Medvedev was sailing, the 34-year-old Nadal stepped back twice to take full control and walked over to serve in the match.
But in another surprising twist, the 20-time Grand Slam champion played a sloppy game, allowing the Russian to return to the match, and Medvedev won the eventual tiebreaker.
The deciding set depended on the seventh game – the Russian produced an overhead winner on his third break point, breaking again to beat Nadal for the first time.
The Spaniard entered the match on a streak of 71 consecutive victories after taking the first set, but the 24-year-old broke that run with a courageous physical and mental performance for two hours and 36 minutes.
“It felt really weird until 5-4 for him in the second set, when he was serving for the game,” said the fourth seed, who lost all three of his games in his season-ending tournament debut last year.
“I felt like I was making great shots but there was no link in my game and so I was losing. He was better in the important moments. I couldn’t come back in the important moments, I couldn’t make a good” shot in the important moments.
“I decided to change a few little things. Just get closer, go for it a little more. I felt like I had a chance to win earlier (in) a few games, maybe a set, but it didn’t work out, so I had to change and it worked very well. good. I’m very happy about that. “
Thiem’s victory against Djokovic put an end to the world’s number one’s hopes of equaling Roger Federer’s record of six titles in the eight-man event.
The 2019 runner-up faced an uphill battle psychologically after wasting four match points in the second set tie-break.
But he quickly returned to the routine and recovered from a desperate situation in the tie-break of the last set, winning six points in a row to earn two match points, taking the second of them.
“It was definitely a mental battle,” Thiem said. “I was very tight in the tie-break of the second set, firstly because playing against these legends will always be something special.
“And then playing for a final here in the ATP Finals is also something very special. I thought that after my first big title in New York, maybe I would be a little calmer, but I guess it was a mistake.”
The Austrian is only the second player in 2020 to win a tie-break against Djokovic, who entered the decisive third set with a 15-1 tie-break record this season.
Results on day 7 of the ATP Finals at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday (x denotes seeded):
Individual
Semifinals
Dominic Thiem (AUT x3) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) 7-5, 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/5)
Daniil Medvedev (RUS x4) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3
Double
Semifinals
Wesley Koolhof / Nikola Mektic (NED / CRO x5) bt Marcel Granollers / Horacio Zeballos (ESP / ARG x4) 6-3, 6-4
Jurgen Melzer / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (AUT / FRA x7) bt Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury (USA / GBR x2) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 11-9
