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Daniil Medvedev sent Rafael Nadal packing 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 world’s number two Spaniard, who has never won the elite test 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. It was better in the important moments. I couldn’t go back in the important moments, I couldn’t make a good shot in the important moments.
“I decided to change a few small things. Just be 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 switch and it worked really well. I’m very happy about that. “
Djokovic’s Agony
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 so 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.
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