Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the second straight year at the Nitto ATP Finals when they battle for a spot in the championship match on Saturday night.
Their round-robin showdown last fall was a memorable one, as Nadal stormed back from a 5-1 deficit in the third set to prevail 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(4)–although both men ended up missing out on a semifinal spot. That improved the Spaniard’s record against Medvedev to 3-0 lifetime. Their previous encounter was even more of a thriller. In a famous 2019 U.S. Open final, Nadal held off a furious charge by the Russian to triumph 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.
“In tennis, at our level, if you lose from 5-1 and having a match point, there is no other word to describe it than ‘choke,'” Medvedev said when asked earlier this week about his London loss to Nadal. “You have to win the match, there is no other way around it. That was not the case and you cannot change the past, so you just have to learn from this match.”
The world No. 4 has clearly learned from last year’s performance inside the O2 Arena, where he went winless in round-robin competition. It also helps that this time around he did not play six consecutive finals during the stretch run of the season. Far more rested in 2020 than he was in 2019, Medvedev won the Paris Masters two weeks ago and so far in London he has erased both Diego Schwartzman and Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Nadal was also outstanding in round-robin play. His only loss came against Dominic Thiem in what is the best match of the tournament to date. The world No. 2 also picked up wins over Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the latter via a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 decision in a winner-take-all battle on Thursday.
He will have to be just as good if not better against an in-form Medvedev.
“He’s playing amazing now,” Nadal said of the 24-year-old. “He played semifinals in New York and now winning in Paris and winning two matches here. Of course he has plenty of confidence and playing very, very high level. But we are in the semifinals of the World Tour Finals, so we can’t expect another story, no?”
But it could be a different story from their encounter last fall. Medvedev should have won even though he was in far worse shape than is at the moment. The Group A champion has been awesome this week and as good as Nadal has been it is no sure thing that the 34-year-old can play four great matches in a row on an indoor hard court.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
This was a match that Rafa lost.
Is someone agree with me that Rafa walk a bit limping at the end of the match?Or is it just my eye?
people on Twitter were talking about it
I think Rafa was lucky as well to get a chance to serve for March. He looked untidy throughout the match.
I just cannot believe Rafa let it get away from him.
Rafa winning the WTFs just isnt meant to be, he had a chance to get to the final, and he blew it, super gutted, this is a bitter pill to swallow 🙁
Agree with NNY, hes his own worst enemy sometimes grr ….
And he is also came here healthy Nny..unlike in the past..and few days ago he claimed that he can beat anybody on any surface…so there is no excuse at all he can lose this match/tournament..except what’s in between his ears..Oh well…On to AO!
Rafa could have won this… so sad he lost his serve when serving for the match.. I just knew he would lose the TB… in the third he seemed out of energy…oh well, not meant to be…
Thank you Rafa for wining the FO with such superiority! You made this terrible year so much better for us Rafans! We all love you! Enjoy some quality time with your family, stay healthy and come back strong for the AO!
Vamos Champ!
The matchup and psychological H2H edge was significant between these 2 so its a big milestone for Medvedev to get this win.
This was always going to be a tough match for Medvedev due to those factors so he likely underperformed until he was facing imminent defeat.
The right person won and it should be an entertaining final against another player with a superior H2H.
Will be interesting to see who Ricky picks for the final due to his ongoing love affair with Thiem.
MA,
Yes, I thought the fact that he was fresh and healthy would serve him well. He is a different player on this surface than on the clay.
I didn’t look closely to see if he was limping at the end. I certainly hope nothing is wrong.
He made some mistakes that you just don’t see him do very often.
It was a great opportunity, but Rafa was unable to take advantage.
I think Medvedev was the better player and deserved to win. That game at 5-4 down to break Rafa was insane, every return was at Rafas foot. Well done Medvedev, so mentally tough!
Great job Meddy! 🙌🏼
Rafans ..this rafa issue of not being able to serve our sets n matches us becoming a bother..what’s more worrisome is he looked tired in third set .was hardly going for winners n got too passive..this getting tired so fast ..do you see him winning more slams ? Your opinion
Cheryl / Ricky : your opinion
Thiem atleast snatched it from Djokovic but rafa clearly botched this up..
I think 21 will surely signal change of guard ..Rafas fitness to go the distance is now a qn over best of 5…fed not sure how he will come back..novak too is not as great as he was in 15,16 , 19 start of year
Honestly sanju how many times have you said this over the last few years! And look what happened!
Rafa has just won his 13th RG in straights against Novak, including a bagel. Novak had never been bagelled in the final of a slam before! Rafa said afterwards that around a month before RG he didn’t believe he could win it. Both he and Carlos said that they had a lot of difficulties getting him ready physically after the long lay off. It’s true that Rafa gets tired more easily but he, Novak and Fed are still better slam players than the younger guys. Best of 5 isn’t best of 3 where they lose much more frequently.
Rafa does need to work on his fitness but he has the time and will to do so.
I mean, look.at RG where he played brilliantly and where Dom played erratically despite being 7 years younger. If you are going to make adverse criticisms one way you have to be able to do it the other. Which do you think Dom would rather win RG or the wtf??.there is no comparison.
Rafa lacks confidence on this surface anyway and we all.know he is a confidence player.
No amy..not criticizing him..I don’t care about wtf ..I rather he win 2 more slams with one being AO
I found him gassed in third set yesterday..what changed from RG to wtf ..it’s not the loss..I’m talking more of fitness for best of 5
approved
Well amy no..not criticizing him..I don’t care about wtf..I rather he win slams. Atleast 2 more with one ao atleast in that to complete double career slam
It’s not the loss that worried me .it’s he getting tired in third n flat .that was the worry as best of 5 will take a lot .he’s surely not going to win ao beating everyone str8 sets like at rg..there will be 5 n 4 setters along the way
N frankly rafa looks bulky now..he has clearly put on n I don’t think it’s all muscle mass
Sanju he isn’t as fit because of the time off. Both he and Carlos said they had a lot of problems getting him ready for RG. But he has time to get fit for next year. The serve is his big Achilles heel. I wish they would bring someone in to help.
I didn’t see the match! If anyone has a link that would be great.
Rafa looks fat. His face, legs , everything looks bulky. Compare it with RG 2019 where he looked fitter. Even in Paris Masters he was getting tired.
Glad someone else too noticed it. He surely looks bulky ..though he won rg with that same bulkiness
Nadal 21 at the French for sure
Hope so Ricky!😀
Sanju always the pessimists, Lol. Rafa will be fine. He’s terrible in this surface so this is no surprise. Rafa’s fitness is great, he played for 5hrs straight at the Us open final against medvedev and won. I don’t care about this tournament really. Rafa should deal with this issue of not serving out sets n matches so that it doesn’t creep into slams.
The way Rafa won the French open this year tells me he has more greatness to achieve. Don’t be surprised when Rafa wins the Australian open before the end of his career. He has a gift for defying expectations. Well done Rafa for your Awesome achievements this year. See you next year.
Vamos Rafa
Opportunity missed by Rafa!
My opinion is that if Rafa beat Medvedev, he would beat Thiem in the final because he knew how Thiem played so would be ready for that.
Meddy was the better player yet Rafa had the chance to win in straight sets. I don’t understand why an experienced player like Rafa would not think of playing a bit more aggressively (like serving aces down the T, or serving body serves instead of serving out wide so often), raising his own level when he’s serving for the match in the second set.
He had played against Meddy before and should know that Meddy played like Djoko and when he’s about to lose, he would turn gutsy, raised his level and went for his shots (that’s how he broke Rafa’s serve).
Rafa has the bad habit of playing and serving more aggressively when he’s behind in the score, even serving aces down the T; but, when he’s leading, he couldn’t get his first serve in so often, and he’s winning only 30+ % of his second serves! A bit more confident and gutsy serving in that crucial service game could very well won him the match.
Rafa also has the bad habit of losing serve after breaking his opponent’s service game. I feel he’s not feeling confident playing indoors. I don’t know whether Rafa still has any chances of winning the WTF, the competition is getting tougher each year.
Thiem and company are getting better, hitting their prime or their peak; next year will be a tough year for the big three; the big three dominance may end next year. We may be witnessing the beginning of a new era where there are many slam winners, with each winning a few slams but none able to dominate the way the big three have done.
Thiem, Meddy, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev and the younger players like Shapo, Felix and Sinner – they’re a promising lot with slam winning potential.
I didn’t see the match so it’s hard to comment( I just looked at live scores for a while in the second set). But Rafa had the opportunity to beat Meddy in straights. That’s pretty good in its own right given that Meddy trounced Novak. On live scores it said that Rafa’s first serve % was 53% while Meddy was serving in the 70s. We all know this is Rafa’s weak area where he doesn’t.get the free points all.the other top players get routinely. However, he doesn’t normally have such a low first serve percentage. So that area probably was his downfall.
Let’s hope he and Carlos can work on that in the off season.
In this WTF I noticed one thing about Rafa: he played great S&V when serving well! For instance in his match against Zverev Rafa was serving extraordinary well and played amazingly S&V! The same tactics would have worked with Medvedev, however, Rafa’s first serve had deserted him for some reason! It might have been that Rafa was just not having his best day in the office, some has also to do with Med good returning plus Rafa’s lack of confidence on indoor conditions…but, Rafa’s play at the net was so refreshing to see, he going more for volleys is what I so much appreciate. Rafa was less drawn into long rallies more prone to shorten the points! I am so proud of his change of tactics and he should proceed with this to get more used to it! When pressed against the wall Rafa still tends to revert to his clay-like defensive game which does not work on this surface…He needs to make sure his first serve works better and the rest will come!
If healthy, Rafa with his newly established S&V game and shortening points with his net play will be a way stronger and hard to beat at the AO!
Vamos Rafa! Just keep up the good work and you will win that AO title again! ❤️
Yes good points Natashao! Rafa served very well against Dom so it’s disappointing he served poorly against Meddy. Also, I remember Rafa saying that when his serve is off he loses confidence in his whole game. As Toni has said Rafa’s serve is simply not a natural action for him. I wish he and Carlos could bring in someone to help. It really doesn’t help when he has to serve for the match. All the players get nervous when doing so but it’s especially hard for Rafa because his serve isn’t his strength.
I don’t care much about wtf anyway. I honestly thought that he probably wasn’t going to win RG this year and he was utterly magnificent in the final. Am very very proud of what he achieved there.
PS I meant that I didn’t think he would win it after Rome. Once RG started and I saw how well he was hitting his forehand I secretly thought he would.
Sorry,?I meant against Tsitsipas not Zverev obviously 🙄
First, Rafa is not fat! I cannot believe I read that here. He has been out of action for almost the entire year. Other players were active in the summer North American hardcourt season. But Rafa did not participate. That’s why I think his win at RG was so remarkable. It was played at a time of year when the weather is much colder. The new roof, the different balls. Rsfa coming in with very little match play. But he won, beating his biggest rival in straightforward fashion.
Rafa has never won the Paris Masters and the WTF. This week we were reminded why. I wasn’t sure if Rafa would make it to the semifinals here. He is never at his confident best on these indoor hard courts. So I am cautious about reading too much into his results here.
When I read comments such as – the right player won, he deserved to win and blah, blah, blah, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Rafa was serving for the match in the second set. It’s not like he was playing like crap. Meddy was playing well, but so was Rafa. This time his failure to serve it out cost him. Rafa’s serve let him down and on this surface, he needs it be effective.
I don’t think Rafa was physically in his best condition. These are not normal times with the pandemic. Maybe he did feel tired near the end of the match. He has hardly played at all. But I am not ready to make definitive statements about him based on his performance here.
Rafa is never at his most confident on this surface. He let Meddy in the match and this time he was able to take advantage. The big three are all getting older and showing the effects of age. Whether 2021 is the changing of the guard, remains to be seen.
We need a return to normalcy before we make any decisions about where Rafa is at and what he still can do in this sport.
He confounded his critics at RG- I am looking at you Goran! It was a great achievement considering the circumstances. I would much rather see him win the AO again and get the double career slam, than win the WTF.
Thank you NNY! The nerve of some people to call Rafa fat. His “fatness” did wonders for him at the French open with him flying all over the court and giving djokovic the worst beat down ever in a slam in his career. All these negative predictions about Rafa bc he lost WTF in the name of objective analysis is ridiculous. The young gen maybe hitting their stride but slams are where it all counts and let’s not forget that thiem won the US bc Rafa, Fed and Djoko were not there bc if they were, I doubt the young gen would have won it. Especially if Djoko got to the final, he sure as hell would have played his best to win it as djokovic is always a beast at grandslam finals especially in hardcourt and he’s pound for pound arguably the best hardcourt player ever in the open era.
Rafa is not “fat”. He looks great, period.