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Daniil Medvedev survives after success of 3: 6, 7: 6 (4) and 6: 3 Rafael Nadal in the final of the ATP Finals. (Here you can read the game on the live ticker). The Russian is in the final Dominic Thiem.
by Nikolaus Fink
Last edit: November 22, 2020, 12:04 p.m.
© Getty Images
After Dominic Thiem’s dramatic success in three sets over Novak Djokovic, one could expect a more than respectable game before the second semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. Right at the beginning, the two leads showed sensational tennis, the Russian initially seemed to have a bit of an advantage.
However, Medevdev missed three break balls in the third game and other half chances a little later. Like so many times, Nadal then knew how to use his opponent’s first small phase of weakness: At 3: 4, Medvedev, who had previously served his first 16 serves on the field, suddenly needed his second serve four times. The Spaniard, a 20-time Grand Slam winner, won the point just as often. The break led Nadal to a 6-3 set success despite minor problems.
Nadal shoots the second move – first
Medvedev did not stop and quickly took advantage of Mallorcan serve to make it 2-0 in the second set, thanks in part to a double error. A little later, the world number four found another break opportunity with a score of 4: 1, but Nadal fought back and was hit in the next game; suddenly everything was back to normal.
Mentally, the break seemed to have a big effect on Medvedev, but Nadal recovered from a brief period of weakness early in the second round and got another break at 5: 4. Medvedev did not give up, however, the 24-year-old got the rebreak to zero.
After that, both players played their respective service games with relative confidence. In the tie-break, Medvedev quickly took the 4-1 lead, Nadal initially struggled to rebound, only to catch an incredibly lucky goal from the Russian at 3: 4. That was enough for Medvedev to send the match into a third set after a 7: 4 in the tie-break.
Medvedev against Thiem in the final
In this, Nadal defended himself from a break opportunity in the first game, but it was the Russian who made the first break and took a 4-3 lead. The Spanish world number two seemed to run out of steam, Medvedev knew how to use this and exploded after 2:36 hours of play with a success of 3: 6, 7: 6 (4) and 6: 3.
“I felt weird until 4-5 in the second set. Then I decided to change a few little things. I got closer to the baseline and took a little more risk. Fortunately, it worked well,” Medvedev said. his first win over Nadal.
In the final, Medvedev meets Dominic Thiem. The final will take place on Sunday at 19:00 CET.
Here you can read the match between Nadal and Medvedev in the live ticker
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Nadal Rafael Medvedev Daniil