ATP Finals: Spirited Dominic Thiem powers past Rafael Nadal | Tennis News – Times of India

The Nitto ATP Finals, being played before spectator-less stands, has struggled for momentum this week. That was until Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem took the court in their second ‘Group London‘ clash on Tuesday. Thiem powered through for a 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-4) win. The pupil bettering the master in a match where spectacular was the standard.
The otherwise bubbling O2 Arena has resembled a ghost town in the opening days of the 2020 season finale being played in London, with only officials and player entourages occupying seats. The venue, with a near 18,000 capacity, had under 100 people in the stadium, including the men in the middle.
Nadal and Thiem, however, played to a stirring beat, raising the roof with their tennis.
“It was a great match from the first to the last point,” a sweat-soaked Thiem said after the 2-hour 26-minute match. “I was lucky to get the first set, Rafa was leading 5-2 in the tie-break. It was great to win the first set, but against Rafa, he’s there from the first to the last point of the match. In this competition, you will see a lot of tie-breaks. The one who is slightly lucky, who is having a better day is going to win.” Thiem added, “I’m very happy with the way I served, the serve is the most important shot in indoor tennis.”
The opening set was marked by a striking use of court by both player – playing deep, cutting it short, angles and lines, going over and under, exploring the net and manning the baseline.
There were no breakpoints in the first set, but the 27-year-old Thiem produced better numbers on his first serves. Nadal, who leads the head-to-head 9-5, however, lost to the Austrian in four sets in their last meeting in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. Three of the sets were decided in tie-breaks and Thiem won all of them. At the O2 too, Thiem, the third seed, looked better and better as the opening set progressed. He clinched the roller-coaster tiebreaker after the Spaniard led 5-2, Nadal even had two set points.
Thiem closed out the set on his first opportunity, punctuating the opening essay with his 21st winner.
In the opening game of the second set, Thiem trailed 30-40 in what was the first breakpoint opportunity of the match. The world No.3 held firm. The Spaniard, the 20-time major winner, then broke in the seventh game of the set, and just when it looked he had played his way back into the contest, Thiem broke back with a pulverizing forehand.