Tsitsipas beats Rublev and Nadal will play second place in the group

After the match offered by

and

, the second meeting of the London 2020 group was on its way to becoming a mere complement.

The two losers on the first day needed the win to keep hope until Thursday.

Defending champion

had lost against Thiem and

had no choice against Nadal.

The Greek maintains his options thanks to the victory this Tuesday against Rublev by 6-1, 4-6 and 7-6 (6), in one hour and 55 minutes, but not before seeing how his rival missed a

to the double fault while serving 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

The Russian, a debutant in the tournament, said that he still lacked tables to measure himself with players in the

.

Sixth seed, Tsitsipas doesn't belong in that stratum of the aristocracy, but at 22 he already knows what it's like to beat

,

and Nadal, and he has well-earned credit on the circuit.

In 19 minutes, the Greek had taken the first set.

Respectfully, Rublev, winner of five titles this season, the most recent a few weeks ago in Vienna, was slow to start competing, as if he still couldn't get used to the idea that he is in the tournament that brings together the best of the year.

He came out more alive in the second set, where he managed to win his first three blank services.

Tsitsipas gave him the court after missing two break balls in the seventh game and giving up his serve without question in the tenth, in a horrendous game that cost him the set.

The Greek still lacks stability, with a tendency to absent himself from parties, to take truces that sometimes have a high price.

Nothing seemed to reach him to win a match that became entangled until his 5-2 advantage was liquidated in the

and he was left at the expense of Rublev, who could get acne with everything in his face, in that double fault that will cause him nightmares.

With this result, Thiem secures the semifinals as the first in the group and Nadal will play second place with Tsitsipas on Thursday.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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