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Rafael Nadal came very close to stamping his passport for his third decision in the ATP Finals. Looking for the unprecedented title of the tournament played in London, the Spaniard opened 1-0 in the semifinal against Daniil Medvedev and still had the chance to close the match when he won the second set 5-4 and had the match point. However, the Spaniard took the turn in the set and still lost the next set, saying goodbye to the tournament with a disappointing 2 to 1 setback, 3/6, 7/6 (4) and 6/3 in 2h35.
The opponent of the Russian, current runner-up in the ATP Finals, will be Dominic Thiem, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final. The game that the champion will decide will be this Sunday at 3:00 p.m., with transmission from SporTV3.
Rafael Nadal and the disappointment of elimination in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals – Photo: TPN / Getty Images
Nadal takes the break point early
The game started balanced, but with a bit of superiority from Medvedev, who had two break points in the third game. Attentive, Nadal recovered and confirmed the service in an ace in his best style. Making few mistakes, the two tennis players confirmed their serve in the following games, and the set was tied 3-3.
In the eighth game, however, the Spaniard opened 40-00, putting all the pressure on the Russian. Feeling the weight of the moment, Medvedev missed the next ball, and Nadal got the first break of the match, making it 5-3. Serving for the group, it was the Spanish tennis player’s turn to make it 6-3 and open 1-0 in the match.
Daniil Medvedev had a good second set – Photo: Toby Melville / Reuters
Bitten, Daniil Medvedev came back with more momentum for the second set, getting a break in the second game. Confident, he confirmed the serve in the sequence, making it 3-0. Minutes later, the Russian got another break point (30-40), putting even more pressure on the world number 2.
Despite the moment, Nadal found the strength to save the match, falling to 4-2. Relying only on himself to close out the set, Medvedev saw the Spaniard break his serve in the next game, dropping to 4-3 and gaining confidence over the next few minutes.
Drama at the end of the second set and a turn of the Russian
From then on, the game began to have unpredictable contours. After getting another break, going to 5-4 and serving to close the match, Nadal made many mistakes, wasted a match point and even saw Daniil Medvedev tie the set. To make matters worse for the Spanish, the Russian achieved a new comeback (6-5), which forced him to serve to force the tie-break. Without fail, the world number 2 did his part, staying alive on set.
Rafael Nadal sweated a lot to close the second set. – Photo: Toby Melville / Reuters
The tie-break came and Medvedev started better, opening 4-1. More precisely, the Russian continued to dominate until he was 6-3 and had three set points. In a very difficult situation, Nadal still fell, but could not resist his rival, who closed the tie-break at 7-4, tying the match.
The third set began balanced with the two tennis players taking few chances. In the seventh game, however, Medvedev got the first break point (40-30), breaking Nadal’s serve in the sequence. With 5-3 in his favor, Medvedev began to depend solely on him to win the match and did not hesitate, closing the set at 6-3. Disappointment for Rafael Nadal, who still doesn’t know what it’s like to be an ATP Finals champion.
