ATP Finals 2020: Daniil Medvedev beats Rafael Nadal - final against Dominic Thiem
Daniil Medvedev is in the final of the ATP Finals after a 3: 6, 7: 6 (4) and 6: 3 success overRafael Nadal . ( Here you can read the match in the live ticker ). In the final, the Russian meetsDominic Thiem .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Nov 21, 2020, 11:58 pm
After Dominic Thiem's dramatic three-set success 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 protagonists showed some sensational tennis, the Russian initially seemed to have a bit of the upper hand.
However, Medevdev missed three breakballs in the third game and a little later further half-chances. As so often, Nadal then knew how to use the first small phase of weakness of his opponent: At 3: 4, Medvedev, who had previously served his first 16 serves in the field, suddenly needed his second service four times. The 20-time Grand Slam winner from Spain won the point just as often. The break brought Nadal to a 6-3 set success despite small problems.
Nadal shoots the second movement - first
Medvedev was not deterred by this and quickly took the Mallorcan serve to make it 2-0 in the second set - also thanks to a double mistake. A little later, the fourth in the world rankings found another break opportunity at a score of 4: 1, but Nadal fought it off and struck himself in the next game - suddenly everything was back on track.
Mentally, the break seemed to have a great effect on Medvedev, but Nadal had recovered after a short period of weakness at the beginning of the second round and got another break to 5: 4. Medvedev did not give up, however, the 24-year-old managed the rebreak to zero.
After that, both players played their respective service game relatively confidently. In the tie-break, Medvedev quickly took the lead 4-1, Nadal initially fought his way back, 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 fended off a break chance 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 broke out after 2:36 hours of play to 3: 6, 7: 6 (4) and 6: 3 success.
"I felt weird up to 4-5 in the second set. I then decided to change a few small things. I went closer to the baseline and risked a little more. Fortunately, that worked out well," said Medvedev his first victory 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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