• Narration and statistics 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5

Guaranteed number 1 at least until after the Australian Open next year thanks to Roger Federer's victory over Novak Djokovic on Thursday night, Rafael Nadal jumped to the O2 track with the sole concern of beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and making what was in his hand to continue in the ATP Finals. His entry into the semifinals also went through a triumph of Alexander Zverev against Daniil Medvedev in the last match of the group stage, which will be played on Friday night. The Spaniard did his part in a beautiful game, winning the Greek 6-7 (4), 6-4 and 7-5, in two hours and 51 minutes.

Tsitsipas, already classified before measuring with Nadal after two brilliant performances against Medvedev and, in particular, against Medvedev, is one of the most suggestive tennis players of the new generation. He proposes, with a game that is characterized by its freshness and joviality. Take good, is competent from the bottom and is often seen successfully by the tape. In front of Nadal, which he defeated last spring in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, on the only occasion in the previous five crosses, he weighs the loss of the backhand with one hand. Being a good blow, the Spaniard has the usual advantage of his left-handed condition and his stubborn drive to compromise those who still defend that way of impacting the ball.

Admirable opposition

The game remained neutral until the playoff, with both players without threats on their service. One would think that the Greek, champion this season in Estoril and Marseille, relaxed once secured his place in the semifinals, but the truth is that he competed with admirable enthusiasm. He is for the first time in this tournament, playing very well, and does not want to miss a moment, even less if he is presented with the opportunity to win the world number 1. Nadal did not walk fine in the rest in the initial set, although Tsitsipas had a discreet percentage of firsts, and made four gross errors that cost him the tie break .

The world number 6 already knows what it is to win the three biggest, with victories as significant as that achieved against Roger Federer in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Play with wit and determination, exhibit bravery and don't wrinkle. He left the first complicated trance, on duty, 15-40, fifth game of the second set, in the first two break balls of the entire game. He created one more Nadal on the next rest turn, again suffocated. It was with four equals when he got the Spanish managed to make it effective, culminating the deployment of his gestural scenery and matching the game below.

Tsitsipas sailed through the third set facing a rearmed player, who maintained his firmness with the serve and reiterated his attempts to break his opponent's. The game rose in tension, with a Nadal approaching the goal but finding answers of surprising temperance for a 21-year-old tennis player. Nadal insisted until the goal was achieved, in the eleventh game of the third set. He then profited his serve and prepared to be recognized in the center of the field as the number 1 of the season, waiting for the possible added reward of the semifinals, in which he could face Federer on Saturday at three in the Afternoon of Spain.

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