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.
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