Things continued to get crazy at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday.
Following Dominic Thiem’s epic win over Novak Djokovic on Tuesday, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev put on a similarly wild show. While the quality may not have been on par with Thiem vs. Djokovic, there was no shortage of drama. Nadal trailed 1-5, 30-40 in the third set before saving one match point and storming back for a 6-7(3) 6-3, 7-6(4) triumph in two hours and 46 minutes.
An Alexander Zverev win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Wednesday’s nightcap would have made things straightforward for Group A the rest of the way: Zverev advancing, Medvedev getting eliminated, and Nadal vs. Tsitsipas being a virtual quarterfinal.
But that is not what happened; not at all. Tsitsipas routed Zverev 6-3, 6-2, sending the 21-year-old Greek through to the semis while postponing the fates of Zverev, Nadal, and Medvedev until Friday. Zverev simply needs to beat Medvedev and he gets a spot on semifinal Saturday. Nadal requires a defeat of Tsitsipas combined with a Medvedev win over Zverev. Medvedev not only has to beat Zverev in straight sets but also needs Tsitsipas to come out on top against Nadal.
Got it? Okay, good; now let’s get back to what happened on Wednesday.
“Today is one of these days that one time of one thousand you lose this match, and it happened today,” Nadal said.
“(I’m) Very happy for that. Very sorry for [Medvedev], honestly, because (to) lose a match like this is tough, and it’s painful. I feel very sorry for Daniil. He’s a good guy, I think, and anyway he should be very proud about all the things that he’s doing…. [At 1-5, match point down] what you think is probably in five minutes you are in the locker room, because that’s the more normal thing. In that moment you play with not much pressure because you know you are almost lost.
“I played a great point, and then I was able to save that game. Even with 5-2 is so difficult to think about comeback against a player like Daniil. And especially in indoor. In clay, still you have more chances because normally you play more points. But here, you are in his hands. But at some point [at] 5-3 of course I started to believe, because being only one break away, why not?”
There was not much of an encore to Nadal’s incredible comeback, as Tsitsipas crushed Zverev in only one hour and 13 minutes
“He played a fantastic match I thought,” the 22-year-old German explained. “I played really bad. At this level, this is how it goes when somebody plays great and you don’t play your best. It can go this way, especially against him–who I think this surface…these conditions fit him quite well.”
“It was a good performance,” Tsitsipas concluded. “It’s really good to know that I’ll be playing in the semifinals, but I’ve got to concentrate, keep going the way I have been doing things the last couple of days. My last encounter in groups against Rafa, which I am aware of that he’s a difficult opponent to face. I’m sure this match is going to mean a lot to him for a chance for him to make it to the semifinals, as well.”
Nadal seemed to have no chance of a semifinal berth when he trailed 5-1 on Wednesday. He has new life now, thanks to some help some Medvedev.
He’ll need even more help from Medvedev on Friday.
[polldaddy poll=10457806]
[polldaddy poll=10457807]
unreal stuff, Rafa (and Daniil)
So Rafa needs to beat Tsitsipas and Medvedev needs to beat Zverev in order for Nadal to make the SF. Who thinks that will happen?
Well, considering how focused Rafa is atm, I go with Rafa, even if Stefanos is performing well and whipped Sascha today.
The chance of Rafa def Stefanos is good – probably in 3 sets. Stefanos will not fold easily and we know Rafa will fight for every point. Vamos Rafa!
Medvedev v Sascha?? I’m not sure which one at all. And oddsmakers are not sure either: they have them about even.
I think it will, don’t forget that if Medvedev beats Sasha, he may also qualify for SF if Rafa loses to Tsitsipas, so Medvedev will try his best to beat Sasha to give himself a chance.
Rafa has to play his best to beat Tsitsipas to at least win another 200 points even if he may not qualify for the SF.
I think they’ll schedule the Medvedev vs Sasha match in the afternoon and Rafa vs Tsitsipas in the night, so that Medvedev will play his best to have a chance to reach SF.
Rafa Vs tsitsi is best n maybe that’s good .if Rafa wins more recovery time for semis..
So tsitsi has surely topped his group right n Thiem his .is that true ?
Tsitsi mauling zverev was unexpected ..so my hope of zverev beating tsitsi did not happen ..so now let’s see if fed helps or even he too will disappoint. Maybe it’s destined for Rafa to write his own no 1 fate n he has to minimum reach final for that
Rafa Vs tsitsi is first match I meant above..
Why is it that zverev just needs to beat Medvedev to qualify irrespective of rafas victory against tsitsi .is it because zverev won the match against Nadal ?
Yes, because he beats Rafa in the first RR match, so if both have 2 RR wins, the H2H comes into consideration.
If Tsitsipas beats Rafa and Medvedev beats Sasha, then the three each has one RR win, so the W/L and then the H2H will come into consideration. In all these scenarios, Rafa is at a disadvantage because he lost to Sasha and Medvedev has taken a set off him.
So, Rafa and Medvedev have to win so that Rafa can reach the SF. I think they should put Sasha vs Medvedev first match on Friday, so that both of them will do their best to reach the SF. If Rafa’s match comes first and he wins it, there’s no motivation for Medvedev to do his best except maybe to salvage some pride for winning one RR match.
Rafa Vs tsitsi already first lucky. Well there is big prize money per round…that’s enough motivation
What complications! Now we even need Medvedev to do his bit for Rafa’s YE no.1 after Thiem played his part yesterday.
Only if Roger could somehow sneak through tomorrow!
Tpas in 2; Med in 3…and I REALLY wish that I were in London….great matches!!!!
I normally fear Medvedev more than I fear Tsitsipas when Rafa is concerned. I thought Rafa did amazing things to beat an on-fire Medvedev. At 5:1 I thought how on earth would Rafa break Daniil who is served great and played very well the whole match. But Rafa showed me how…
I think Danil and Rafa were both rusty in their first matches, but after the grueling match yesterday they have both sharpened their weapons. I really don’t see Medvedev losing to Zverev as he has all the weapons to beat the German. The only way Danil loses is if he is extremely tired or if Zverev comes up with some amazing error free tennis, which I doubt. Danil will force errors of Zverev.
And on Rafa: he would I believe always chose to play Tsitsipas rather than Medvedev as I think Tsitsipas makes an easier opponent fir Rafa…his style of play does not seem bothersome to Rafa. However, I did not see Tsitsi play at this WTF so I might be wrong as he seems to have found his best tennis…but Rafa should be on fire…
Vamos Champ!
Luckystar NOVEMBER 14, 2019 AT 1:43 AM
“I think it will, don’t forget that if Medvedev beats Sasha, he may also qualify for SF if Rafa loses to Tsitsipas, so Medvedev will try his best to beat Sasha to give himself a chance.”
Med will already know the result of the Nadal/Tsits match before he plays Sasha so I don’t think that will influence him. He would want the points though.
Medvedev has very little chance against Zverev. But, stranger things have happened.
Rafa can beat Tsisi for sure. He got his forehand back towards the end of Medvedev match.
Medvedev will beat Zverev…unless Nadal beats Tsitsipas
If tsitsi beats Nadal n med beats zverev…who qualifies between Nadal, zverev,Medvedev
i think it’s the one who loses the fewest games.
it cant come down to games. If Medvedev wins in 2 he is in, if not he is out.
A win doesn’t guarantee Rafa’s place in the semifinals:
~ If Nadal beats Tsitsipas and Medvedev beats Zverev at night, Nadal qualifies.
~ If Nadal beats Tsitsipas and Zverev beats Medvedev, Zverev qualifies unless Nadal wins in straight sets and Zverev wins in three sets, in which case it comes down to percentage of games won.
https://rafaelnadalfans.com/2019/11/14/atp-finals-2019-what-time-does-rafael-nadal-play-against-stefanos-tsitsipas-in-london/#comments