The Nitto ATP Finals promised terrific tennis action, and so far, it has delivered. There have already been some major upsets in the tournament, with the Big 3 of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer all suffering defeats.
However, Rafa managed to avoid another upset — and a shock early exit — with an amazing comeback win in his second match.
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas joined Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals with another impressive win. And with Thiem already in, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be left to battle it out in an all-important match where the winner will go through and the loser will go home.
Rafael Nadal completes remarkable comeback
It will take more than a four-game lead, match point, and an abdominal injury to keep Rafael Nadal down. The World No. 1 proved this for a fact as he staged a sensational comeback to beat Daniil Medvedev, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4).
The Spaniard was down 1-5 in the third set, but he saved match point and rallied in spectacular fashion to stun the young Russian.
”I’ve been super lucky,” Nadal said after the match. “Sorry for Daniil. It’s a tough loss. He was playing much better than me in the third set. It’s one of these days, one out of 1,000, where you win.
”I know from my personal experience how tough it is to close out matches, especially when you have two breaks in front and you lose the first one. [At 3-5], I thought I had a chance. I think I was a little bit better in the end. In general terms, I think I was playing much better than two days ago, so that’s a very positive thing for me.”
Nadal improved to 3-0 against Medvedev in their head-to-heads this season. He also beat the Russian in the finals of both the US Open and the Canadian Masters.
With Nadal’s win, Novak Djokovic must now win the tournament in order to overtake the Spaniard and claim the year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.
Nadal, who is searching for his first-ever ATP Finals title, must defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in his final match and hope Medvedev defeats Alexander Zverev to go through to the semi-finals.
Stefanos Tsitsipas books place in semi-finals
In the other match of Group Andre Agassi, Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his ticket to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over defending champion Alexander Zverev.
Tsitsipas, who also created some Nitto ATP Finals 2019 highlights in his straight-sets win over Medvedev, is now 4-1 in his career head-to-heads against Zverev.
However, the rising Greek star was quite complimentary of his German opponent in his post-match comments.
“I always find an extra motivation, an extra reason to play well against the top guys. I consider Sascha also being of this part of this elite group,” Tsitsipas said.
With his qualification to the semi-finals secured, Tsitsipas will now head into his final match of the group stage against Rafael Nadal with no pressure. The Greek has lost four of his five meetings against the World No. 1, although he did beat Nadal on clay at the Madrid Masters.
Despite his defeat, Zverev still has control over his own fate. He will move on to the semi-finals if he can beat Daniil Medvedev in his final match.
Even if Nadal wins against Tsitsipas in his last group match, which the Nitto ATP Finals 2019 odds will favour him to do, Zverev would go through by virtue of winning the head-to-head against the World No. 1 in their tournament opener.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer collide in do-or-die clash
Every match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is a big deal, and their 49th all-time meeting will be no different.
The two legendary players are 1-1 through two matches, which means the winner of their third and final group match will go on to the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals, while the loser will go home.
Both Djokovic and Federer fell to Dominic Thiem while defeating Italian Matteo Berrettini. Djokovic’s loss was especially painful as he lost a third-set tie-breaker after claiming the first set.
Djokovic holds a 26-22 lead in their career head-to-heads. He’s also won their last five meetings and nine of their past 11 matches.
The two last met in the final of Wimbledon, which resulted in an epic five-set win for Djokovic. It might be too much for SBOBET tennis fans to hope for something similar this time around. Nevertheless, it will still be a must-see spectacle as the two legends of the game collide on this grand stage.
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