Rafael Nadal *1-1 Dominic Thiem. After a quick start from Nadal on his service game, Thiem recovered from 0-30 down extremely well. At 0-30, he switched things up with a very good serve and volley, then he pummelled an ace at 30-30. He closed it off with a wicked kick second serve that forced a forehand error from Nadal. This is quality tennis and both players look ready.
Rafael Nadal 1-0* Dominic Thiem. A positive, proactive start from Nadal, opening with a hold to 15.
It took just one point for the first brutal rally to begin as Nadal netted a forehand at 15-15 after a tough exchange. Nadal did very well afterwards, dragging Thiem off the court with an excellent crosscourt forehand at 15-15, dispatching a sliding ace at 30-15 and then finishing his first hold with a nice drop volley at the net.
Play has begun. Meanwhile, send some best wishes to one of the other top Spanish players of this generation, Carla Suarez Navarro, who is undergoing another round of chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Carla Suárez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava)
Paso a paso, ya queda menos. Vamos a por otra semana de tratamiento. 💪🏻
Les agradezco mucho todos los mensajes de ánimo que me hacen llegar estos días. ☺️ pic.twitter.com/nD8zEHHKs3
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are on the court. Nadal will serve first.
2020 top 10 records:
Dominic Thiem: 6-2 (all on hard)
Rafael Nadal: 2-3 (1-3 on hard)
It is that time of year where tennis journalists and fans stumble over basic maths.
- If Nadal defeats Thiem in 2 sets or if Nadal defeats Thiem and Rublev defeats Tsitsipas, Nadal will advance to the semi-final
- If Thiem defeats Nadal and Tsitsipas defeats Rublev, Thiem will advance to the semi-final
Tennis TV (@TennisTV)
Auf geht’s! 🇩🇪@KrawietzKevin and @AndreasMies get back on track in London with a 6-2 7-6 win over Kubot/Melo#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/6O500FtPOO
ATP Tour (@atptour)
Extra time for Andrey 😂
Next to face the #NittoATPFinals pyramid challenge: @AndreyRublev97 pic.twitter.com/wJiQ52fzys
If you have a spare 37 minutes, here is their encounter in Melbourne this year. It feels like a decade ago.
Hello! Welcome to our coverage on day 3 of the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena, where we have the biggest match of the event so far as French Open champion and No 2 Rafael Nadal takes on US Open champion and No 3 Dominic Thiem.
This match has major implications for both the group stages and beyond. After Thiem’s tight three-set win over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nadal’s easy first match against Andrey Rublev, they are fighting for supremacy in this group. Nadal will also retain his No 2 ranking if he wins today, making it likelier that he will clinch the 2nd seed at the Australian Open. Despite what they may say, neither player wants to face Novak Djokovic in the semi-final.
Although Nadal leads the head-to-head 9-5, Thiem has made so much progress against the big three in recent years and his success is reflected in a 3-3 H2H over their last 6 matches. They have only ever played twice on hard courts, with Nadal edging out their classic 2018 US Open quarter-final 7-6(5) in the 5th set before Thiem won a tight Australian Open quarter-final in four sets this year.
Both played at a high level in their opening matches, and this match will give an accurate reflection of exactly where they are as they both look for their first ATP Finals title.